‘It was dire here:’ One Georgia county ran completely out of water after arctic freeze

One Georgia county found itself completely out of water after arctic cold caused pipes to burst all over north Georgia.

Channel 2′s Bryan Mims was in Butts County, where so many pipes burst that the county’s water system was completely dried up by Monday night.

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Danielle Hopson, the general manager of the Butts County Water and Sewer Authority, said they had to tap into neighboring Henry County’s supply to replenish the tanks.

“It was dire here,” Hopson said. “We were completely out of water to the point we had to get emergency water.”

The supply has now been replenished, but officials are still testing the water for bacteria, and the county remains under a boil-water advisory.

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So many people are relying on a water distribution site in Jackson. Since it was set up yesterday, the site has served more than 1,300 families. One after the other, cars flowed in to the county’s recreation center, where families could get two free cases of water each.

Cheryl Goodrum was one of the many people picking up water Wednesday afternoon.

“We had no water after Christmas Day. We didn’t have any water,” Goodrum said. “We knew this was coming, but we didn’t expect it to be this bad, to hit us like this, especially down here in a small town. But it did.”

Sheeka Stillwell’s faucets are running again, having run dry for awhile. She said it’s the first time she’s experienced anything like this.

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“It was like, ‘Ok, what’s next? How are we supposed to get through this and it’s already cold?’” Stillwell said. “Gotta bathe, gotta clean meat, gotta be able to brush our teeth, you know? It’s really life-changing, but we’ve made it through so far.”

The Water Authority said tests on the water supply are expected to come back tomorrow. If they come back negative for bacteria, the boil-water advisory will be lifted.