Water service has been restored in McCaysville, where locals have been working to repair damage from flooding after thunderstorms across North Georgia hit the area Saturday night.
For days since the storm, residents and businesses had been told to conserve water and, if they must use it, boil it first.
Local officials in McCaysville, which sits at the Georgia-Tennessee border, declared a state of emergency after the downpours flooded the town and damaged the water treatment plant, causing a shortage of drinking water.
“The boil water advisory has officially been lifted for all customers on the City of McCaysville water system. You no longer need to boil your water before use,” the city’s public safety director and police chief Michael Earley said in a social media post Thursday afternoon.
Thanks to the city’s water department, which “worked tirelessly around the clock to restore water service to our community,” the city has water again and earlier than originally estimated, he said in his most recent update.
But the flooding was extensive, and several are still dealing with cleanup and repairs, Earley said on Facebook. The city’s police department has been relocated from its building, and the U.S. Post Office building is unsafe because of the damage.
Drainage issues stemming from a Georgia Department of Transportation road widening project may have contributed to the floodwaters streaming into small businesses and storefronts downtown, officials said in social media posts.
“Our downtown area has experienced significant flooding, not from the river, but due to major drainage issues associated with the ongoing State Highway 5 road construction,” Earley posted to Facebook Saturday night.
The Georgia Department of Transportation said Monday that seven inches of rain in eight hours overwhelmed their drainage systems, and crews reopened State Route 5 after 20 hours of repair work and cleanup.
“It’s the type of storm that has less than a 1% chance of impacting this area on any given year,” the department spokesperson said in a statement. “No project or drainage system is built to handle a storm cell of this magnitude or the resulting flash flooding that occurred. The storm overwhelmed drainage systems throughout the county.”
McCaysville Mayor Terry Arp said it was an act of God — “But God got a little help, too.”
The road construction is taking place on a hillside, leaving extra dirt and debris that got swept up in the water racing downhill toward downtown. The intense rain quickly overwhelmed drainage systems.
“Everybody wants to try to blame everybody for everything,” Arp said. “You know that movie ‘The Perfect Storm’? That’s about what happened, and everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong with the help of the rain.”
Arp said he’s had multiple conversations with GDOT and contractors on the project have been out in force to help with cleanup.
The city and the surrounding area were under a flash flood warning from the National Weather Service late Saturday night until 5:30 a.m. Sunday. Fannin County firefighters urged residents to “use the 911 system sparingly” because the damage to roads made getting around the city difficult.
“Many roads in and around the area are not passable,” the fire department posted on Facebook. “Our crews have been out all night with our mutual aid partners rescuing people that became trapped in their homes.”
The flooding also caused the power to go out at the city’s water treatment plant, and damage to the plant led to “major leaks” of treated water, prompting a conservation notice for the area’s water customers to stop using water, Earley said in a post in the early hours Sunday morning.
McCaysville sits along the Tennessee border, near the North Carolina border, and has a population of just over 1,000 people. The Toccoa River flows through the downtown and connects the city with its “sister city” across the border — Copperhill, Tennessee.
Copperhill limited water use, had several roads closed and was dealing with flood damage of its own, the city posted online.
Arp assured residents Sunday that the city was working closely with neighboring jurisdictions to address the situation.
“To our merchants and residents, please know that we have been in constant contact with GDOT and other state and local government officials, making our concerns and frustrations with this situation very clear,” Arp said in the Facebook post. “This is unacceptable, and we will continue pressing for answers and action until this issue is resolved.”
Local businesses, including in Copperhill, rallied together to take part in the cleanup efforts and support their neighbors. Copperhill Brewery gathered donated food from other businesses in their parking lot to work crews and anyone else displaced by the damage, the business posted to social media.
Sara Gregory contributed reporting to this story.
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