Dublin residents worry about their health, water bills after sewer line break contaminates water
Layla Cain and Gwendolyn Bigelow say the city hasn't done anything to fix the problem and doesn't have answers. The city released a statement in response.
DUBLIN, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — What would you do if you felt the water in your home wasn’t safe to use? That’s what residents of one Dublin neighborhood are faced with after a break in the city’s sewer line.
Imagine you’re getting ready to take a shower when you see contaminated water begin to fill your tub. For residents on North Church Street in Dublin, it’s a problem they’ve been dealing with for weeks.
What started as water overflowing from a manhole more than a month ago has started seeping into residents’ homes. Gwendolyn Bigelow says she knew something was wrong when she noticed the smell of sewage.
“If you stop and look, you see the sewage actually coming up, and the sewage is in the road,” Bigelow said.
Bigelow lives in a house on North Church Street not far from the manhole.
She says she and her daughter Courtney cook family meals together, but now, they’re afraid to use city water.
“We’re having to make sure we boil the water,” she said. “We have to make sure we buy bottled water. We’re just having to be careful right now, because we’ve got two small kids.”
Bigelow says her two grandchildren had been sick with a stomach bug, and she didn’t know if the water was to blame. After raising concerns with the city, officials from the City Water Department came to test the water in Bigelow’s home, but she hasn’t heard from them since.
Now, she and her neighbors want answers.
Layla Cain lives next door to Gwendolyn. Within the past week, Cain says her toilets take hours for the water to flush, and contaminated water has begun seeping through the drains in her tubs.
“It’s terrible!” Cain said. “It’s putting a damper on my day today trying to get ready for work and can’t do it.”
Both Cain and Bigelow say between high water bills and the price of bottled water, it’s costing them money they don’t have.
With growing concerns for their health and no timeline for repairs in sight, residents of North Church Street are uncertain the issue will be resolved.
“We’re standing in that taking a shower,” she said. “Our dogs are drinking and our kids are drinking this water. You can’t tell me it’s not affected.”
City Manager Justin Powell released a statement Tuesday in response to the water concerns:
“The City is aware of and is monitoring the issue with the sewer line on North Church Street. We’ve notified the Georgia
Environmental Protection Division and are closely watching the situation. This is heavily diluted water due to the rainfall
we’ve seen in recent weeks. We’ve been able to determine the location of the problem in our sewer line and our
engineers are drawing plans so we can have a contractor make the necessary repairs.”
