RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. — Two disruptions to Eastover's water facilities created a headache for students and residents of the town.
According to Eastover Mayor Phillip Gunter, the town wide loss of water pressure and discoloration began at 7am on Monday morning.
He says a pipe burst but was resolved within a few short hours. However, he says a water facility employee unknowingly pushed the wrong button and caused a second spell of water issues and a drop in pressure.
Over at Webber Elementary school that meant that second grader Jordan and his classmates had to use outside porta-potties and skip washing their hands in exchange for hand sanitizer.
He says, "you couldn't wash your hands, because the water was going too slow and you had to put hand sanitizer on."
Sylvester Scott lives across the street from the school. He says he was able to see the porta-potties from his front lawn and witnessed kids coming in and out of school to use them.
He also lost pressure in his home and says the town has had low pressure and discoloration for weeks.
"it's very frustrating because I couldn't cook, I couldn't take my shower, couldn't wash."
Gunter says this is because the town has temporarily shifted from a large water distribution facility to two smaller ones for maintenance. He adds the goal is make the town's water quality better overall, which is an ongoing process.
The mayor says everything has been fixed since Monday's mistakes and water pressure to the school should be back to normal by Tuesday.
Richland School District One tells News19 school will still be held at Webber on Tuesday and the school will continue to provide breakfast and lunch services for students.