A boil water advisory for some Ellijay-Gilmer County Water and Sewerage Authority customers on the east end of the county was issued and later lifted last week.
The advisory for the Mulkey Road/Stegall Mill area came after lightning hit a 6-inch underground water main, said Gary McVey, water authority director.
The affected areas included Mulkey Road and Stegall Mill Road, the Woodland Acres, Canoe House and Cartecay Ridge subdivisions, and any homes near those areas that experienced low pressure or water outages after the lightning strike.
McVey said it’s unusual for lightning to strike a water line, but it does happen from time to time.
“This particular line is a cross-country line between the Gilmer County Jail and Mulkey Road. Lightning had hit a nearby tree and ran the root system to the water main,” he added. “When a water main is hit by lightning, it violently damages the main, which is around 4 feet deep.”
This strike took out about 90 feet of water line, which had to be replaced by crews, McVey noted.
“It’s not unusual, as was the case with this particular event, to find pieces of the water main on top of the ground after the damage occurs,” he added. “Several years ago, we had lightning strike a water main in Warlick Subdivision off Highway 5 South that damaged almost 500 feet of PVC water main. We found pieces of the water main stuck in nearby pine trees.”
The boil water advisory, which was issued on Tuesday, Aug. 15, was lifted Thursday, Aug. 17, after lab samples from the site tested free of coliform bacteria. Water line disinfection and flushing procedures were also performed at the site, McVey noted.
In the event of a boil water advisory, the CDC recommends using boiled tap water or bottled water for such things as drinking, brushing teeth, washing food, preparing baby formula and drinking water for pets.
Water authority customers are advised to continue to boil water until notified by the authority that the water distribution system has been restored to full operation and water in the system is safe for human consumption.