After a water main break Thursday night, thousands of Tennessee American Water Co. customers went without water this weekend in the city of Chattanooga.
After water came back on in some locations, officials still advised that water should be boiled to ensure it’s safe. By Sunday at 4 p.m., the boil notice had been lifted for many households, although officials said the advisory would continue to gradually be lifted Monday.
Check out this map to see if a boil advisory is in effect for you.
Water outage recap
A break in a 36-inch pipe, built circa 1960, had crews working around the clock for a fix, while Hamilton County schools, UTC and many businesses, including one of the city’s largest employers – BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee – closed Friday.
Events, such as live WWE at McKenzie Arena, were also canceled; the jail brought in portable toilets and fans; one hotel improvised, using pool water to flush commodes; some animals at the Aquarium died and downtown’s economy felt the effects of the outage.
Officials implemented a boil advisory and city officials used youth centers to distribute bottled water.
FastFacts
- The water break occurred about 20 feet from where Tennessee American Water crews were working on a planned maintenance project.
- Water took longer to get back to customers as higher elevations.
- Tennessee American Water tested water to ensure it meet state + federal standards before lifting boil notices.
- The City of Chattanooga and Hamilton County Office of Emergency Management will continue to share updates.
By the numbers
- 35,000: People affected by the outages.
- 32: Hours needed to complete the repair.
- 108: Number of Tennessee American Water employees who worked to correct the problem.
- 300,000: Bottles of water distributed to residents from the city.
- 90: Home water deliveries made.
- 100: City volunteers, including 54 police officers, volunteered time over the weekend to help.
- 31: Tankers from Tri-State Mutual Aid, Knox County, Knoxville, and Upper Cumberland strike teams for fire suppression efforts came to assist.
