A boil advisory for Salemburg was lifted Tuesday around 3:30 p. m., following the Friday line break that left citizens without water until Sunday, and town officials and volunteers, alike, working to fix the problem.
Water was restored Sunday, and once resupplied to the town, a boil advisory was in place until the water could be tested for quality, with those results expected at noon Tuesday, although they arrived later that afternoon.
“We’re good! It’s lifted,” shared Salemburg Town Clerk Teresa Smith in a phone interview after receiving the awaited email.
Salemburg’s water was sent to the lab in Hope Mills Monday for testing,.
The leak was found at Highway 242 and Laurel Lake Road after the town lost almost 400,000 gallons of water. Local schools had early closures Friday, and local businesses were forced to close their doors for several days — yet the town came together, with many working to find the leak and repair it, and others working to get bottled water to citizens.
The leak was found in the town’s main water line Sunday, the third day spent searching.
As soon as they were aware of the leak on Friday, town officials and employees worked until midnight that night trying to locate the source of the problem, but to no avail.
The group was back at it first thing Saturday morning, with volunteers gathered to provide water to Salemburg residents as well.
Pallets of water were brought to Town Hall Saturday, where residents could pick up what they needed for their families. More than 20 volunteers gathered to load the water into residents’ cars.
Among the volunteers were students from Lakewood High School, Mintz Christian Academy, Sampson Early College and Salemburg Elementary, all whom Mayor Joe Warren thanked with a pizza lunch.
As cars pulled into the parking lot, the volunteers eagerly waved them over to where stacks of water was waiting. The students would find out how much water each car needed and load it inside. At times you could even see elementary schoolers holding cones on their heads, showing cars where to turn, eager to join in helping lead the cars to the water.
Food Lion of Roseboro and Lowe’s were named as companies that donated pallets of water for town residents.
Mayor Warren gave an update after the water leak was repaired Sunday, saying: “I would like to remind all Salemburg water customers that there is a boil water advisory in effect until further notice. Residents are advised not to drink tap water without boiling it first. To ensure safety, residents need to bring water to a rolling boil for at least one minute and allow it to cool before using.”
The mayor also expressed his gratitude to the people who worked to resolve the issue, naming his family and town residents who stepped up to help.
“I want to especially thank the mayors of Roseboro, Clinton and Garland for providing their support of those who spent countless hours of their time in locating our leak. I also would like to give thanks to the Sampson County Commissioners, Sampson County Sheriff’s Office, Sampson County Public Works Department, Emergency Management and DOT for working alongside us to get the job done. Ben Sandy and Sandy’s Hauling employees worked extremely hard and did an excellent job in repairing our main water line.”
Now that the boil advisory is lifted, there are no additional restrictions for town water, and residents can return to normal water use.