Emergency Water Conservation Advisory
Emergency Water Conservation Advisory
Update: April 29, 2023, 6:18 p.m.
The City of Milledgeville has canceled the Boil Water Advisory issued on Friday, April 28.
City officials ask that water conservation efforts continue through Wednesday, May 3, when repairs to the high service pump at its water treatment facility are expected to be complete.
Georgia College & State University will continue normal operations throughout the week of Monday, May 1 through Friday, May 5. Final exams will continue as scheduled.
Thank you for your patience as the City of Milledgeville issued its emergency water conservation and boil water advisories.
Update: April 27, 2023, 4:36 p.m.
On Friday April 28, normal campus operations will resume for students, faculty and staff.
Although we are seeing improvements to the water pressure across campus, the City of Milledgeville is continuing to work on repairs to its water system and issued a boil water advisory notice earlier today. While the boil water advisory is in effect, we encourage everyone to be familiar with CDC Boil Water Advisory guidelines.
Georgia College continues to stay in close contact with the City of Milledgeville. The city’s water officials are testing water samples to ensure the safety of the water supply before ending the boil water advisory, so we do not know how long it will be in effect. (In the past, the city’s boil water advisories have lasted from 24 hours up to 72 hours.) Also, water conservation measures will remain in effect for today (Thursday) although we anticipate that they will be withdrawn when the city completes its portable pump installation. We will notify the campus community as soon as we learn more.
Bottled water is available for students who reside in on-campus housing at The MAX dining hall and on GCSU buses. Please make sure to have your Bobcat Card ready when picking up water.
Students who reside in off-campus housing are encouraged to take advantage of the water distribution site organized by the City of Milledgeville at the Baldwin County Government Annex building not far from campus. We also encourage faculty and staff to bring bottled water to work tomorrow.
Due to the boil water advisory currently in effect, some of our dining operations need to be modified as follows:
- The MAX will remain open regular operating hours with a limited menu.
- Chick-fil-A and AFC Sushi will remain open during regular operating hours.
- The West Campus convenience store will remain open until midnight, but the Pizza Hut will not be able to serve pizza.
- All other retail dining locations will be closed until further notice.
As water pressure is restored across campus, please notify our Facilities Department at 478-445-4279 between 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or contact your CA or Public Safety after business hours if you notice anything unusual related to our water infrastructure.
Update: April 27, 2023, 10:33 a.m.
The City of Milledgeville has indicated plans to issue a Boil Water Advisory today. Please refer to the City of Milledgeville advisory for this most recent update. You can learn more about how to ensure your safety during a Boil Water Advisory on the CDC website.
Georgia College & State University will distribute bottled drinking water to residents of on-campus housing beginning at 11 a.m., today in the Max Dining Hall. Housing residents will need to present their Bobcat Card to receive bottled water.
Students who reside in off-campus housing are asked to utilize a water distribution center set up by the City of Milledgeville at the Baldwin County Government Annex building, located at 1601 N. Columbia Street.
Drinking water distribution at the city site began at 9:00 a.m., this morning, April 27, 2023.
Please look for further communications on Front Page.
Update: April 26, 2023, 6:16 p.m.
Milledgeville city officials have made some progress today in replacing valves in the water system, but have informed us that they do not expect significant improvement in the water pressure situation until the new pump arrives on Thursday from New Jersey and is installed as soon thereafter as possible.
Accordingly, the city has asked us as one of its top water users to support their ongoing conservation efforts by continuing to have as many employees work remotely as possible. We have monitored buildings all around campus, including West Campus, and have found the most impact on upper levels of multi-floor buildings where toilets/urinals may not flush well because of the low water pressure. Other toilets on campus are flushing but may refill very slowly. We have not had any reports of water outages, but should you encounter this issue please notify Facilities as soon as possible (students in residence halls should notify their CA’s).
Given the urgency here at the end of the semester, we will again modify our operations on Thursday, April 27, as much as we can without disrupting the essential things that need to be wrapped up at this time of year. Specifically:
- All classes will meet as scheduled and all instructional personnel will report for normal schedules on Thursday, April 27.
- Non-instructional personnel who can work from home are encouraged to continue doing so on Thursday with the approval of your supervisors.
- If your supervisor has asked you to return to campus to work today, Wednesday, please plan to do so again on Thursday, April 27.
Sodexo continues to provide dining services as normal, and other parts of our campus are operating without interruption. We are all hopeful that this situation will be improved by late Thursday – but we will provide another update on Thursday as soon as we can get additional information from the city.
Update: April 25, 2023, 4:48 p.m.
Milledgeville city officials have advised us this afternoon that they have located a temporary pump to help remedy the current water pressure situation but it cannot be installed until Thursday at the earliest. Accordingly, GCSU campus operations will be modified on Wednesday, April 26, just as they were today.
Specifically, all classes will be held and all instructional personnel will report for normal schedules on Wednesday, April 26. Other non-instructional personnel who were notified to report to campus today (Tuesday) will need to report to work on Wednesday. If your supervisor notified you to work remotely or to remain off campus on Tuesday, you should do the same on Wednesday.
So far, our reports are that all parts of campus do have water, but some low-pressure issues have been reported. Sodexo has been able to maintain all dining operations, including scheduled special events, and we expect that library, transportation, dining, book-store operations and scheduled athletic competitions will continue on normal schedules.
We will provide another update by mid-afternoon on Wednesday about Thursday conditions as we continue to be briefed by city officials.
Update: April 24, 2023, 11:16 p.m.
Georgia College & State University has been advised by City of Milledgeville officials that water system issues are likely to continue throughout the day tomorrow, Tuesday, April 25, resulting in low water pressure or no water in many downtown businesses in and around the campus. As a result, GCSU campus operations will need to be adjusted.
All classes will be held, and all instructional personnel will report for normal schedules on Tuesday. Other non-instructional personnel will hear from their supervisors tonight or early tomorrow about their need to report to campus or work remotely tomorrow. Library, transportation, dining and book-store operations will continue on normal schedules.
We will provide updates by mid-afternoon on Tuesday as we are briefed by the city that could impact campus events scheduled for Tuesday afternoon and evening. Look for further communications through Front Page and GC Alert from Public Safety.
Original Message from the City of Milledgeville
The City of Milledgeville has issued an emergency water conservation request for all customers served by the city’s water and sewer utility. The city has determined that system-wide water conservation measures are needed at this time due to the system experiencing a motor failure with a high service pump at the city’s water treatment facility. This issue may cause widespread water pressure loss.
While the emergency conservation notice is in effect, all water system customers are asked to please refrain from the following:
- No outside water use in any capacity or volume.
- No filling of swimming pools.
- No watering of gardens, lawns or washing cars. (Commercial car washes using recycling techniques may continue to operate.)
The Recommendation for indoor water conservation is as follows:
- Condense loads of laundry.
- Reduce showering times.
- Turn water off when brushing teeth or shaving.
- Make sure all faucets are turned off.
- Make sure dishwashers are full to minimize loads
Voluntarily following this conservation request will make it less probable that complete water pressure will be lost. This conservation request remains in effect until further notice by the City of Milledgeville. For more information, please visit the City of Milledgeville's website.