On Saturday, April 7, 2018, we experienced a major water line break on 36th Street. That break caused most of north Phenix City to lose water for the majority of the day. The line has since been repaired, and service has been restored. There was no danger to the public during this outage, the water is safe, and there is no need to boil your water for consumption.
The difference between the water main break which occurred on April 2, 2018, and the water main break which occurred on April 7, 2018, is that the April 2 occurrence required the water to be turned off to a large portion of the city’s water system until the next day to make repairs, and the occurrence on April 7, 2018, did not require the water to be turned off to a large portion of the city’s water system. On April 7, while a large portion of the city’s water system had much-reduced pressure, the water was not turned off to this area to make repairs to the water main. The City of Phenix City and Columbus have the ability to exchange water for emergencies, and this was done on April 7, to help the City of Phenix City keep water flowing to the water system. A Columbus water crew also assisted the Phenix City water crews by installing a temporary water stop next to the water main break that allowed the Phenix City crews to repair the pipe. The City of Phenix City greatly appreciates the City of Columbus’ help. We also greatly appreciate the hard work and many hours that the City of Phenix City crews worked to repair the water main and restore pressure.
We apologize for any confusion that may have been caused by the lack of information available on the city’s website and social media. In the future, we will strive to have information concerning major utility issues posted promptly on those platforms. The city is also in the process of implementing a notification system that will alert the community of emergency utility issues, which we plan to have operational this year. This notification system will be able to communicate via phone call, email, and text message.
If you have discolored water, allowing the water to flow through your pipes may help to clear the discoloration. Red and dark-colored water is typically from rust sediment. If your clothes are discolored from the red / dark water, please contact the Utilities Department (334-448-2880) during normal business hours and request “iron out,” which is an agent that can remove rust stains from cloth. Cloudy / milky water is typically caused by very tiny air bubbles which will clear after the water sits still for a few minutes.
If you have any questions or concerns, please call 334-291-4757.