By: WCTV Eyewitness News CAIRO, Ga. (WCTV) — Students in Grady County will return to class as usual Thursday after being released early Wednesday due to a water main break.
Grady County Schools said in a statement that the City of Cairo completed repairs to the water main and that water pressure is expected to return to normal by the end of the day.
According to GCS, all schools will be open Thursday, and bottled water and hand sanitizer will be provided under the boil-water advisory.
The district issued the following notice on Wednesday: Good Morning, The City of Cairo has a water main break on the main line from the Airport.
Therefore, we will be releasing students from all schools at 9:00 this morning.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
City officials says the decision to close schools was made because the school cafeterias could not prepare and serve meals and sanitary conditions at the schools in Cairo could not be maintained.
Cairo Mayor Booker Gainor says city employees are currently working to correct the problem.
City officials say repairs could take until noon, if not longer, and it will be early afternoon or later before the water supply will return to normal.
Officials say once the distribution system is back up and functioning properly, the city will immediately begin taking water samples and transporting them to an EPD-certified lab operated by the City of Bainbridge.