"You don't realize how much you rely on water": Forsyth County residents react after outage

Water service has been restored to Forsyth County after a massive water main break.

Kernersville Elementary School is one of two water distribution sites in the affected areas, and residents have been steadily picking up bottled water. Many expressed gratitude for the assistance.

Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here

“You really don’t realize how much you rely on the water that comes out of the tap, you know, for a lot of stuff,” Katie Wise said, while picking up water.

On Friday, county and city leaders handed out thousands of cases of bottled water to residents in Kernersville and Walkertown. Wise said she hadn’t anticipated running out of bottled water so quickly.

“I had not even thought about getting more bottled water because I didn’t need it yet, and then this happened, and I was like, ‘Well, I’m not going to be able to buy any at the stores right now. They’re going to be gone,’” Wise said.

Despite the challenges, some residents remain optimistic.

Subscribe to WXII’s free YouTube channel here

“Bottled water, lots of bottled water. We braved the shower this morning, but everything else is bottled water,” said Lea Mulligan and Sharon Safranek, who were picking up water. “Even he’s on bottled water. Yep, even he’s on bottled water. This is Finn.”

When asked about the inconvenience, Mulligan added, “Things break, and they’re doing the best that they can.”

As water service returns, some residents are still seeking answers about the cause of the break.

Keep up with the latest news and weather by downloading the WXII app here.

“What caused it, what happened? I mean, we want to know those type of things,” John Blake said, while picking up water. “Why did this happen? If it’s 40 feet underground and it’s under a pond, one, it seems like a bad placement to have something like this. Two, what caused that break?”

Crews are continuing to work to ensure the water is safe.

RELATED COVERAGE