ANSON COUNTY, N.C. — A county-wide water outage in Anson County has left residents and businesses without service due to a water main blowout on Highway 74 near Wadesboro.
Wadesboro officials report that the Anson County Water Department estimates water service will remain unavailable for an additional six to 18 hours.
The disruption began around noon on Tuesday when a water main burst on Highway 74 just east of Wadesboro while crews were performing maintenance.
The extensive outage has impacted communities like Lilesville and Wadesboro, forcing some businesses to close early.
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Taylor Rainwater, a resident of Lilesville, said his faucets stopped working around noon on Tuesday. Rainwater expressed frustration, noting previous outages.
“It’s pretty frustrating. Especially considering we have had it happen a couple other times,” Rainwater said.
He added that attempting to contact the utility company was difficult: “I finally got around to calling the utility company around two o’clock. They didn’t answer after a few calls. And the water has been out continuously since.”
Rainwater also stated that he keeps clean water for short emergencies, but will have to plan further.
“I keep a store of clean water around the house for short emergencies and whatnot, but I’m going to have to start planning around that,” Rainwater said.
In Wadesboro, several businesses were forced to close early because of the water issues.
A Pizza Hut and Burger King shut down around eight. A local McDonald’s displayed a sign indicating it hoped to reopen around five Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, Whit’s Convenience Store in Lilesville still had water as of six o’clock on Tuesday evening.
Ashley Jarrell, an employee at the store, voiced concerns about the store’s ability to operate if its water supply runs out.
“Customers come in and use the bathroom. They have to wash hands after that; they have to flush the commode. You’ve got to have water to make the coffee,” Jarrell said.
The widespread impact has also raised concerns for vulnerable community members.
Jarrell specifically mentioned the elderly: “I would like to mention the elderly people. What are they going to do about making sure they have water to stay hydrated?”
At the Wadesboro Food Lion, shelves for bottled water were largely empty. Signs were posted limiting customers to purchasing two 24-packs or 35-packs of water and four one-gallon jugs.h
Fire departments across Anson County are distributing free bottled water to residents affected by the water outage while crews work to repair the main.
Ansonville Fire is providing one case per person, while Burnsville and Lilesville fire departments are offering one case per family through tonight, with distribution resuming Wednesday morning.
Emergency management expects the leak will be repaired by 3 a.m. and water will gradually return to customers. There is no set time for when residents will receive water.
This is a developing story. Check back with wsoctv.com and watch Eyewitness News for updates.
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