UPDATE (3/10/17 at 10:56 p.m.): The boil water advisory was lifted in DeKalb County at about 5:09 p.m. Friday.
Emory University is set to re-open at 5 p.m. today after the main campus closed at 10 a.m. because of a major off-campus water main break near Buford Highway in DeKalb County that has impacted the Atlanta campus operations.
DeKalb County has issued a county-wide boil water advisory for residents.
Classes are canceled for the Atlanta campus. The Yerkes and Oxford College campuses are unaffected and will remain open. Emory Healthcare employees should refer to their emails for information regarding the operations of Emory Healthcare.
DeKalb County issued the boil water advisory at 9 a.m., according to the county government website. During the advisory, residents should use boiled or bottled water for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth and cleaning, according to a 9:25 a.m. email from Director of Housing Facilities and Operations Jonathan Cooper.
Workers have isolated the 48-inch water main break, according to a DeKalb County press release. Workers started to assess water pressure and are working to restore water flow within the next 24 hours, according to a DeKalb Watershed tweet.
Students are asked to reduce their water usage and to expect reduced function of building heat and hot water because Emory’s steam plant is affected, according to a 7:30 a.m. email from Assistant Director of Facilities and Operations Max Wright. Toilets, sinks and showers may not work or be fully functional either.
Around the Atlanta campus, students reported no and low water flow at some residence halls’ toilets, showers and sinks. Residence Life is hoping to distribute at least one water bottle per student, according to to an email sent to Residence Hall staff obtained by the Wheel.
Campus Services are shutting off water in buildings and advising students to use the bathroom on the lowest floors, where Campus Services will be manually flushing toilets with buckets, the email reads. Port-a-Potties are also being installed in multiple locations around campus including between the tennis courts and 10 Eagle Row and in the parking area between Harris and the Complex, the email reads.
All campus dining locations are closed except the DUC-ling, which will offer residential students a modified lunch service from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and modified dinner service from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., according to Campus Life Communications Director Tina Chang.
A makeup day for the College of Arts and Sciences is set for March 24, which is up to faculty discretion to use, according to Communications Director for the Office of Undergraduate Education Steve Savage. March 24 is the first scheduled inclement weather makeup day, according to the College Inclement Weather policy.
The Atlanta March For Our Lives event, a protest advocating for stronger gun control in wake of the Parkland, Fla., high school mass shooting, is also on March 24.
In a March 7 email to the Wheel, Savage wrote that the makeup dates were selected prior in December 2017.
“Four dates were selected in December 2017 so that we could reserve multiple classrooms well ahead of time,” Savage wrote. “While it is unfortunate that the makeup day occurs on the same day as the March For Our Lives event, we must use the dates as they come up.”
“The College has reserved all Registrar scheduled classrooms over the course of two weekends to allow for in-person class meetings to account for the time missed,” according to the Makeup Class Policy.
Goizueta Business School faculty have the option of scheduling an in-person makeup class session or can have an alternate assignment or method of instruction, according to Assistant Dean of the BBA Program Libby Egnor.
Shuttles are operating on a normal schedule, according to Transportation Program Coordinator Jessica Wang.
Student Health Services (SHS) has closed. Emory Healthcare’s Clifton Corridor clinics called patients to inform them that they would reschedule appointments. Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is closed and appointments will be rescheduled.
Emory Healthcare closed Clifton Campus Clinics A, B and C; the Emory Clinic located at 1525 Clifton Road and other Emory clinics, including those in Tucker, Dunwoody, North Decatur Road, etc. Patients are being notified and appointments will be rescheduled if necessary.
Emory University Hospital (EUH), Emory University Orthopaedics and Spine Hospital (EUOSH) and the Emory Rehabilitation Hospital are resuming normal operations.
Student Government Association (SGA) is rescheduling its March 7 Wonderful Wednesday after Dark, according to Eli Patt (18C), and Student Programming Council (SPC) is rescheduling their “Spring Breakerz” event, scheduled for today at 1 p.m., SPC President Tamara Ezzat (18B) told the Wheel.
Parts of Buford Highway have flooded due to the break and DeKalb County School System is releasing students early, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
DeKalb County Government closed at 11 a.m. according to a press release.
Emory Point residences have “little to no water pressure” and it is unclear when water pressure will be restored, according to a Gables Emory Point management message sent to residents at 7:52 a.m. Residents still had no water pressure as of 10:26 a.m.
Georgia State University also closed its campus at 10 a.m., while Georgia Institute of Technology is retaining normal operations.
Update (3/7/18 at 11:22 a.m.): This story has been updated to reflect new information regarding cancellations, closings and advisories.
Update (3/7/18 at 3:01 p.m.): This story has been updated to reflect new information regarding the re-opening.
Editor-at-Large | aokluge@emory.edu
Alex Klugerman is a senior from Rockville Maryland in the Goizueta Business School, majoring in Business Administration with concentrations in Marketing, Strategy Management Consulting and Film & Media Management. On the Wheel, he’s previously served as News Editor, Associate Editor and Interim Emory Life Editor. For his coverage of the Migos booking scam, he was selected as a finalist for the Society of Professional Journalist in the Breaking News Reporting category in the 2017 Region 3 Mark of Excellence Awards. He also placed first in the 2017 Georgia College Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest in the category Best News Article Based on Investigative Reporting. Currently, he is involved in the Wheel’s fundraising and planning efforts to commemorate its 100th Anniversary. Outside of the Wheel, Klugerman has interned with CNN in their Mobile + TV Apps product management division and enjoys cycling and travel.
