DeKalb: Dunwoody school evacuated after water main break

Students outside Austin Elementary School in Dunwoody. AJC file photo. (Renee' Hannans/Staff).

Credit: RENEE' HANNANS

Credit: RENEE' HANNANS

Students outside Austin Elementary School in Dunwoody. AJC file photo. (Renee' Hannans/Staff).

Update: Because the repairs were completed so quickly, Austin Elementary students are now returning to the campus.

Original post: Students attending Austin Elementary School in Dunwoody evacuated to a nearby campus on Thursday after a water main broke nearby.

Repairs are now complete on a damaged six-inch pipe that was discovered on Holly Bank Circle. While fixes were underway, water was shut off for customers in the immediate area.

The county did not have an estimate of how many customers were affected, but Austin Elementary is a short distance away from where the pipe burst. Because the outage was expected to last most of the day, about 230 students were bused to Peachtree Charter Middle School.

The students will return to Austin’s campus this afternoon for dismissal, a school system spokesman said. Many of them have already been picked up by parents who learned of the water outage, a school spokesman said.

A water main break in Doraville crippled the water supply in much of DeKalb County for more than a day earlier this year. Today's issue was not nearly as widespread.