A 30-inch water main ruptured along N.C. Highway 55 in Cary early Monday, forcing a stretch of the busy commuter road to close, triggering a system-wide boil-water advisory for tens of thousands of customers, and prompting 30 area schools to send students home early.
The break happened along N.C. 55 between the Jenks Road/Old Jenks Road intersection and the Lewey Drive/Turner Creek Road intersection, according to the Town of Cary, which closed that corridor so crews could repair the pipe and clear debris. As reported by ABC11 News, crews later reopened one northbound and one southbound lane, and the road was subsequently widened to two northbound lanes and one southbound lane in that same stretch, though a timeline for a full reopening had not been released.
The Town of Cary confirmed the failed pipe was a 30-inch transmission main that knocked out pressure specifically in the town's Central Pressure Zone, while the Western and Southern Pressure Zones, along with neighboring Apex and Raleigh-Durham International Airport, were unaffected. The station's report notes the water main break remained contained within Cary's own system. Per Cary officials, only one customer was confirmed to be without water entirely, even as roughly 50,000 customers were placed under the pressure advisory.
Why a Pressure Drop Means Boil Your Water
Town crews began collecting water quality samples at 5 a.m. Monday, cautioning that low pressure can create conditions allowing bacteria to enter the system even though no harmful bacteria had actually been detected at that point. That precaution follows North Carolina Division of Water Resources rules, which require a System Pressure Advisory whenever pressure drops below 20 pounds per square inch, since dropping pressure raises the risk of back-siphonage pulling outside contaminants into the pipes, as outlined by the Town of Hillsborough.
Cary's guidance recommended a one-minute rolling boil before customers use tap water for drinking or cooking, though boiling was not mandatory for everyone under the advisory. The town went further for at-risk residents, advising that infants, young children, and people living in child care or assisted living facilities avoid using tap water at all for bathing, handwashing, or brushing teeth until the advisory lifts. Cary officials said the pressure advisory would remain in place until at least 3 a.m., and the town also temporarily shut down all municipal spraygrounds and public drinking fountains as an added precaution.
Dozens of Schools Sent Kids Home Early
The disruption rippled quickly into classrooms. The Wake County Public School System dismissed 30 schools across Cary and Morrisville early because of the water main break and the resulting pressure advisory, according to the Durham Herald-Sun. Cary High, Cedar Fork Elementary, Davis Drive Middle, Davis Drive Elementary, and Connections Academy were among the schools that dismissed students early, per ABC11. School leaders made the individual calls on early dismissal, and it was left to those same leaders to decide whether any after-school activities would proceed as planned.
Neighboring Towns Field Confused Callers
The scope of the alert reached well beyond Cary's borders. Wake County's ReadyWake alert system sent countywide emergency notifications about the water main break, which prompted neighboring municipalities such as Holly Springs to issue their own public statements confirming their water supplies were not affected by the Cary rupture. Drivers throughout the area were advised to seek alternate routes around the NC 55 closure and to expect delays while the repair work continued, according to ABC11's coverage.
Cary's Water System and Long-Term Conservation
Cary's drinking water is treated at the Cary/Apex Water Treatment Facility, which draws raw water from Jordan Lake and completed a major expansion between 2018 and 2019 that pushed its capacity to 56 million gallons per day, according to HDR, the engineering firm behind the project. That plant serves Cary, Apex, Morrisville, and RDU Airport. Separately, Town of Cary open data shows residential per-capita water demand fell 30 percent between 2003 and 2023, a decline officials attribute to long-term conservation policies and advanced metering infrastructure that have reduced baseline strain on the town's distribution mains.
For now, questions remain about what exactly caused the 30-inch main to fail and how long full repairs to the roadway and pipeline will take. Residents with questions were directed to contact Cary 311 for additional information as crews continued work on the main and the pavement above it.
