On March 7, 2018, a 48 inch water main broke on Buford Highway near Longmire in Doraville, north of I-285. The break flooded the road, shut it in both directions, cut water across DeKalb County and brought a county wide boil water advisory.
Key takeaways
- A public main break can flood a street and send water toward storefronts, and it can also leave a business without water.
- Safety comes first: stay out of moving water and keep power off in any wet area.
- Photograph everything before moving stock, equipment or furniture.
- A boil water advisory affects food service and cleaning, separately from any water that entered the building.
- Standing water is extracted first, then floors, walls and fixtures are dried to a reading.
What the 2018 break showed
DeKalb County Watershed Management provides water and sewer service in Doraville. When one of its large mains fails, the effect travels well beyond the broken pipe.
The March 2018 event closed a major road, disrupted water service across the county and brought an advisory to boil water. For businesses on the corridor, that meant a disrupted day on top of any damage.
Who is on the corridor
Many small restaurants stand along Buford Highway and Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Doraville. Pine Tree Plaza is a shopping center on Buford Highway, and Serta Simmons Bedding has its corporate home in the city.
A burst main, a failed fixture or a storm can put any of those operations out of service for a day or more.
Two separate problems
A main break can cause an outage, a boil advisory, or water inside the building, and sometimes all three. They need separate responses.
The utility handles the main. The building owner or tenant handles water that reaches floors, walls and equipment.
The first hour inside the building
If water is entering the space, the priority is people and electrical safety. Water and power do not mix, and a commercial kitchen has a lot of both.
Staff should know who makes these calls before the day starts. A written plan that names the person who shuts off power and the person who contacts the landlord saves minutes when water is moving.
Even a small amount of water on a commercial floor can spread under shelving and equipment. Treat every wet area as larger than it looks.
- Move staff and customers away from wet floors and out of any flooded room.
- Switch off power to affected circuits if the panel can be reached without crossing water.
- Close the building's own water shutoff if a pipe inside is part of the problem.
- Block doorways with sandbags, towels or mats only if it is safe to do so.
- Call the landlord or property manager so the building side is on notice.
Document before anything moves
A claim depends on records. Insurance adjusters want to see the water, the damage and the dates.
Photograph and video the space before moving anything, then keep a running list of what is lost.
- Wide shots of each room, then close shots of the water mark on walls and equipment.
- Stock, packaging and paperwork that were wet, with a count where possible.
- Time stamps on photos, plus a note of when the water arrived and when it was removed.
- Names of the utility reports, the road closure and any notices from DeKalb County about the event.
- Receipts for anything bought to protect the property.
Extraction and drying in a commercial space
Commercial floors are large, and water spreads wide and thin. The extraction crew pulls standing water first, because water left on a floor keeps moving into baseboards, wall bottoms and cabinets.
Then the drying team maps moisture with meters and a thermal camera. That map decides what is dried in place and what is removed.
Restaurants and food service
Kitchens have cooking stations, walk in coolers and drains. Water under cooking equipment and behind cove base can hide for days.
Anything that touches food has to be cleaned and sanitized after water exposure.
Retail and offices
Carpet, cabinets and drywall wick water. Shelving and stock on the lowest levels take the hit first.
Moving inventory off the floor early keeps losses smaller. The water damage cost calculator gives a planning sense of scale.
A boil water advisory is its own problem
The 2018 break brought a county wide boil water advisory. For a restaurant, that affects ice, drinks, dishwashing and food prep, not just the floor.
Follow the guidance of DeKalb County and the health authorities. The water damage response does not replace it.
- Use water from a safe source for food and drinks until the advisory is lifted.
- Flush pipes and clean ice machines after service is restored, following the manufacturer and local guidance.
- Keep a record of what was discarded and when.
When the water came from the public side
If a county main caused the flooding, the building owner still has to dry the space. Whether anyone else pays depends on the facts and on the policy.
That is why photos, readings and dates matter so much. They are what make a claim understandable later.
Keep any written notice from DeKalb County about the break, along with dates of any outage or advisory. A business owner may also want to ask a tenant association or the property manager what other tenants saw.
Getting a Doraville business open again
A reopening plan has a few parts: stop new water, extract, dry to a reading, clean and sanitize, then rebuild what was removed.
The page for commercial water damage in Doraville explains how the work is staged around a business. The water extraction in Doraville page covers the first step.
For the larger picture, see the Doraville service overview and the page on commercial water damage.
Questions
What happened in Doraville in March 2018?
A 48 inch water main broke on Buford Highway near Longmire on March 7, 2018. It flooded the road, closed it in both directions, cut water across DeKalb County and led to a boil water advisory.
Who handles a broken public water main?
DeKalb County Watershed Management provides water and sewer service in Doraville, so the main belongs to the county. Water that gets inside a building is the property's problem to dry.
What should a restaurant do first when water gets inside?
Get people out of the wet area, turn off power to affected circuits if it is safe, and photograph the space before moving anything. Then arrange extraction so water does not soak into walls and cabinets.
Does a boil water advisory mean the building has water damage?
No. An advisory is about drinking water safety. Damage comes from water that enters the building, which is a separate issue.
How long does drying take in a commercial space?
It depends on the size of the area and how wet materials are. The crew dries to a moisture reading rather than to a set number of days.
Should a business wait for the road to reopen before calling for extraction?
No. Once it is safe to enter, extraction should start. Standing water soaks into baseboards, drywall and cabinets while a road stays closed.