Good afternoon, citizens of Halifax County. 

I am Vernon J. Bryant, chairman of the Halifax County Board of Commissioners. 

I am coming to you today to reflect on the recent water outage in the western area of Halifax County. 

On behalf of the Halifax County Board of Commissioners, I want to extend my sincere apology to all citizens affected by this outage. 

You have endured nearly two weeks of hardship, and for that we apologize not only for the lack of water but also for the stress and the length of this event.

As you know, after the back-to-back ice and snowstorms, Halifax County experienced a water main break that affected approximately 2,400 households in the western end of the county.

Progress was made day by day, restoring water service to more and more customers, but due to the ice and snow, the location of the primary water leak was not located until last Thursday night. 

Two other water main breaks on last Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, caused by sub-contractors of internet service providers, made the situation worse, resulting in diminished water tower levels and low water pressure.

Halifax County issued a State of Emergency last Friday, prohibiting any roadside construction, including digging and trenching, to prevent any additional breaks in the system. 

That State of Emergency will continue through this weekend and will be lifted as soon as system pressures have returned to normal and water tower levels have recovered.

The valve that was the source of the primary leak that caused the outage will be replaced on Saturday. 

Public utilities chose to complete that repair on Saturday to allow Hollister Elementary Leadership Academy and the local businesses to remain open all week and to have time for the parts to arrive. 

Water will be shut off on Saturday beginning at 7:30 a.m. for approximately 8-10 hours. 

There is a water spigot available at Medoc Mountain State Park picnic shelter, and the 6,000-gallon potable water truck will remain onsite at Hollister Elementary for any citizen in need of water.

The mission of the Halifax County Board of Commissioners is to provide leadership and support for an effective county government that seeks to enhance the quality of life for the people of Halifax County.

Once the repair is made, it will probably take three or four days for the four impacted water towers to recover and return to normal levels, which will likely mean continued lower than normal water pressures. 

Customers can still expect to see some air in their lines and will need to flush any remaining air from water lines once system pressures return to normal.

I want to commend our Public Utilities and Emergency Management teams for their hard work and dedication in challenging conditions to repair the water leaks and provide drinking and household water to citizens in need.

I want to conclude by stating that any official communications from Halifax County come through our Facebook page and county website 

Updates from any other sources cannot and should not be considered official. 

For any general questions regarding the county’s response to the water main break, contact the county manager’s office at 252-583-1131. 

For any questions regarding the outage or water service, contact the public utilities office at 252-583-1451.