On Friday morning, the Union County School District faced an unexpected disruption as students were sent home early due to a water main break in Lake Butler, per the Union County Sheriff’s Office. The incident affected not only the district’s more than 2,300 students but also the entire community, including homes, businesses, a hospital, and all city buildings, according to News4Jax report.
The city notified the school district that the outage would last an extended period, prompting the early release and subsequent relocation of students to a reunification site at Sardis Baptist Church, as additionally reported by Action News Jax.
The break occurred after a contractor, engaged in a road-widening project on County Road 231, struck the main water line, this mistake led to a complete loss of water for the city, forcing many businesses to close early, including B-Squared Bakery on the community’s busiest day, and complicated matters for local residents who faced an unexpected adversity on that day, as students were held at schools for pickup until noon before being transported to the church until 3:30 p.m. according to First Coast News. Jason Furman, Lake Butler’s lead water/wastewater plant operator, emphasized the severity of the situation stating, “There’s zero water pressure, there’s no water coming out of our water tower right now,” and pointed out the preventable nature of the incident citing the contractor’s negligent failure to call for underground utility locates before digging…