A water main break knocked out running water at Columbia Elementary School on Tuesday, forcing the DeKalb County School District to split its students between two neighboring campuses for the day. Pre-K through second graders and self-contained Exceptional Education classes were bused to Snapfinger Elementary School, while third through fifth graders were sent to Columbia High School, according to the district.
The scramble to relocate an entire elementary school's population on short notice was detailed by FOX 5 Atlanta, which reported the district provided lunch at both temporary sites and planned for all students to return to Columbia Elementary in time for regular afternoon dismissal. The same outlet's video coverage of the incident, filed separately, described crews working to repair the water main break while a nearby neighborhood also went without water.
Not the First Time These Schools Have Swapped Students
Tuesday's shuffle is not an isolated event for this cluster of Decatur-area schools. Back in January, Snapfinger Elementary suffered its own unexpected loss of running water, and the arrangement ran in reverse: Snapfinger's Pre-K through second graders relocated to Columbia Elementary while its upper grades moved to Columbia High School, per a report from 11Alive. The pattern shows these two elementary schools essentially function as each other's backup facilities whenever a building emergency knocks out water service.
Aging Pipes and Active Construction in the Area
The disruption comes as DeKalb County works through a heavy stretch of water infrastructure repairs. Watershed Management crews resumed overnight water main replacement work along West College Avenue in Decatur earlier this month, running construction nightly from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays, the station reported. In July, county watershed crews also repaired a 16-inch water main break on Constitution Road that officials attributed to a construction contractor, according to a notice from DeKalb County Government.
Separately, an aging cast iron pipe installed in 1941 caused a major water main break on Clairmont Road near Dresden Drive, disrupting water pressure for roughly 8,800 households and 20,000 Decatur-area residents and triggering a boil water advisory, according to the City of Decatur. It is not established whether Tuesday's break at Columbia Elementary stemmed from aging municipal lines or third-party construction activity.
A County-Wide Push to Replace Decades-Old Lines
These repeated outages are unfolding against a backdrop of a decade-long infrastructure funding plan. DeKalb County enacted 10 consecutive annual 10% water and sewer rate increases starting July 1, 2025, and running through 2034, aimed at replacing aging pipes and meeting federal consent decree obligations, as previously reported by 11Alive and relayed in Hoodline's coverage of county water billing issues.
That same reporting noted that county leadership disclosed in May 2025 that delinquent water bills totaled $104.7 million across DeKalb, with more than 600 individual accounts owing over $5,000 each. In February 2025, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners had passed a water affordability resolution intended to shield vulnerable residents, including seniors and households with minors, from service disconnections during pending billing disputes.
Facility Questions Loom Over the District
Tuesday's relocation also lands amid a broader, unresolved debate over school facilities across DeKalb County. The district's Board of Education has been weighing long-term facility proposals, including a controversial 2026 restructuring plan that would close 27 schools and adjust capacity districtwide, FOX 5 Atlanta reported. For families at Columbia Elementary, the immediate concern was simpler: getting their kids fed, sheltered, and home on schedule after another building lost its water.
