HOLLY HILL, S.C. — A boil water advisory for the entire town of Holly Hill has been lifted after over three days of being effect.
The boil water advisory had been in effect since last Friday. It was issued after a water line break.
Mayor Billy Chavis explained that the problem stems from the town's aging water infrastructure, which has been in place since 1949.
"A lot of the water system, water lines were originally put into the ground in Holly Hill in 1949 after World War Two," Chavis said. "You’ve had numerous upgrades as the town has grown with people in capacity with the water tower. The water tower they have ran water pipes out and around. You have some water pipes that are newer, but the majority of the older homes that are built in the 1970s, 60s, 50s, 40s, those homes still have the original 1949 pipes that go up to them."
The advisory was prompted by a water line break that happened during weather changes Friday night. Chavis said the break was linked to a service line.
"We don’t know if it’s because of a prior fix that failed or if the line broke of age," Chavis said. "Our cutoff valves were not properly exercised to make sure that they worked, and now they have failed, so we can’t shut water off to do certain areas, and we are looking to remedy that as we speak."
The town says it lacks the resources to test water samples on-site, meaning samples were sent to a lab on Monday for testing. Until the results are returned, residents are advised to continue boiling their water.
Tommie Burkins, a Holly Hill resident of nearly 19 years, said he has been managing the situation by using bottled water and boiling water when necessary. "If I needed to do some cooking I’d boil the water or I’d use some of the bottled water to do so it hasn’t been too much of an interruption," Burkins explained.
However, Burkins expressed hope for long-term improvements. "I’d like to see it fully restored to good operation, but we’re in the process of getting that done. It’s going to take a while," he said. "With something that has been around as long as the water system here in Holly Hill since the 40s, it’s going to take a while to get it repaired and brought up to today’s standard."
The town’s water system turned a profit last year, the first time in 25 years that they did that.