Residents in southern Decatur Co. upset after days without water

DECATUR COUNTY, Tenn. — What happens when the water runs dry?

“We’re in our third day of no water in the southern end of Decatur County,” resident Frank Naylor said.

“I’ve called them and they say they can’t give me any estimated time when it will be fixed. They just say everyone is experiencing the same problem,” Carolyn Richardson said.

Scotts Hill, Bath Springs and Bob’s Landing in Decatur County are in day three of no water.

“The town of Scotts Hill doesn’t have the personnel or equipment to handle a major leak,” Naylor said.

Officials say a pipe burst deep underground Tuesday and it’s taking them days to get down to it and fix the issue.

“They dug with a small machine all day long until they realized that still wasn’t going to get it,” Naylor said.

Some residents and businesses without water say they are angry with the slow response from the city.

“We’ve probably lost four or five hundred dollars in revenue a day since Tuesday,” Richardson said.

Richardson works at Bath Springs Mercantile, also known to locals as Ski Daddy’s Convenience Store, and says business has nearly come to a halt.

“When people come in, the first thing they do is go to the restrooms, so when we tell them it’s out of order because they have no water, they just leave and go somewhere else,” Richardson said.

Decatur County Emergency Management and the mayor are providing water to those in need in front of Meo Mio’s Cajun & Seafood Restaurant.

“Everybody has been really excited that we are out here giving out this water,” Decatur County Deputy EMA Director Andrew Sparks said. “We have a crew that’s going out to different houses that might be shut in or cannot drive.”

Officials say they expect to have the water restored by the end of the day.