Tennessee American Water successfully completed repairs to the impacted water main around 4 a.m. and has begun the process of restoring the system.
Officials said, "The return to normal operating conditions will occur slowly and return last to customers at the highest elevations within the system, such as Lookout Mountain and Elder Mountain. We anticipate that most of the system will fully recover by late Saturday night, and we anticipate lifting the Boil Water Notice for many of our customers before the end of the weekend.
"Tennessee American Water has maintained state water quality standards throughout this event. The precautionary boil water notice remains in effect. This boil water notice applies to the entire Tennessee American Water - Chattanooga system, including north Georgia. We continue to ask customers to bring all water to a boil, let it boil for three minutes, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation until further notice. Customers will be notified when the Boil Water Notice is lifted through customer notifications, social media, Tennessee American Water’s website and company announcements.
"Tennessee American Water developed a map showing our pressure zones and we will be lifting the Boil Water Notice by these zones. We will work to update this map approximately every six hours and will post it on social media, in press releases and on our website. As the system is restored, we must flush lines of air to prevent additional breaks and to clarify the water and then finally take water quality samples – this is a systematic process but is necessary to restore service as quickly as possible."
Customers may experience some of the following as pressure is restored: air in pipes that may cause the water to be cloudy or produce loud noises, discolored water and/or water that has a stronger chlorine odor. After water service is restored, if you experience any of the above items please run the cold tap with good flow for three minutes or until it runs clear to eliminate the air, noises and/or discoloration. All customers should to continue to not water their lawns or otherwise irrigate while the system recovers.
“The past 48 hours have been a very challenging time for all of us here in Chattanooga. The teamwork that was on display, and that continues, has been second to none and Tennessee American Water is fortunate to be a part of this wonderful community,” said Darlene Williams, president, Tennessee American Water. “I want to thank all our customers for their patience over the past few days. We know it’s been rough and understand it’s difficult to be without water. We thank you for conserving water to assist us with making repairs and we apologize for the impact that event has had on your lives.”