UPDATE: Boil advisory issued in Rochelle after water valve repairs; Wilcox County students won’t return to buildings until Friday

The City of Rochelle Water Department shut off water Tuesday afternoon to replace water valves near the intersection of Main Street and Gordon Street, and a boil water advisory is now in place for affected areas.

UPDATE (4/8 – 9:15 p.m.): Wilcox County Schools said in a Facebook post Tuesday night that students won’t return to school buildings until Friday.

“Water issues with the boil advisory won’t be fully resolved tomorrow,” the post stated. “Due to this, Thursday will be a work day for staff. Students will return on Friday.”

The post followed a previous notice that students would learn virtually on Wednesday.

ORIGINAL STORY (4/8 – 4 p.m.):

ROCHELLE, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The City of Rochelle Water Department shut off water Tuesday afternoon to replace water valves near the intersection of Main Street and Gordon Street, and a boil water advisory is now in place for affected areas.

According to a social media post by Rochelle Mayor Wayne McGuinty, the shutdown began at 2 p.m. on Tuesday and was scheduled to last until around 4:00 p.m., when water pressure was expected to be restored. City leaders say the repairs are necessary ahead of resurfacing work by the Georgia Department of Transportation on Highway 215.

In response to the advisory, Wilcox County Schools announced a Virtual Learning Day for Wednesday, April 9. The district said in a Facebook post that “School, PASS, and WALC will be closed.”

According to the advisory from the City of Rochelle, all resident who have experienced water outages and/or low water pressures are advised to boil all water prior to use for drinking, cooking or preparing baby food. The water should be boiled for at least one minute after reaching a rolling boil.

Residents should continue boiling their water until the drinking water utility confirms the system is fully operational and microbiologically safe. Water samples will be pulled Wednesday morning and taken to a lab in Tifton. Results are expected by Thursday morning.

Anyone with questions can contact Rochelle City Hall at (229) 365-2244.