DEMOREST - Demorest water customers north of Georgia Highway 115 should boil their water before consumption until at least 1 p.m. Saturday.<br />
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That's the word from Demorest Mayor Rick Austin, who said a storm-related water line break near Return Baptist Church in the Fairview community has caused an outage affecting numerous customers and two schools.<br />
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"It was a six-inch water main," Austin said about 1 p.m. Friday. <br />
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The outage affected both Fairview Elementary School and Mountain Education Center Habersham, located in the former Fairview Elementary.<br />
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"They've been without water since 9:30 or 10 this morning," Austin said, adding portable toilets and bottled water were brought in to Fairview Elementary.<br />
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Demorest City Manager/Clerk Juanita Crumley said the advisory area includes the areas of Highway 115 and 105 to the north, and Habersham Mills and Highway 115 to the north.<br />
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Demorest officials shunted water toward Habersham Medical Center to keep it supplied, Austin said.<br />
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Austin said a heavy thunderstorm that rolled through the area Friday morning, and officials believe lightning struck a tree and traveled into the water line.
