COPPERHILL, Tenn. — Residents on both sides of the Tennessee-Georgia state line continue to deal with a growing water crisis after flooding disrupted service in Copperhill, Tennessee and McCaysville, Georgia.McCaysville leaders declared a local state of emergency Tuesday during a special meeting as crews continue responding to damage from weekend flooding.Officials said the declaration will better help the town respond to the emergency and continue recovery efforts.They also reported that the building the McKaysville Police Department operates out of is not in good enough condition to be open.During a special-called Zoom meeting, one official urged the community not to rush to assign blame.”A lot of people want to point fingers. I’m not here to blame anyone at this time,” the official said. “There’s not been this much water in our city in 500 years.”Another official said the flooding involved two separate issues.”When water was coming down, it had nowhere to go because of the river,” the official said. “All of the mud was from the construction. As far as the water, we know where that came from; it was Mother Nature.”Meanwhile, across the river in Copperhill, residents affected by the ongoing water crisis will now be able to pick up bottled water Tuesday at a new distribution site.Photo via the City of Copperhill Facebook page.The City of Copperhill says bottled water will be available beginning at 9 a.m. at Copperhill City Hall for residents affected by the boil water advisory that followed weekend flooding.City officials say pallets of bottled water arrived late Monday after local and state officials worked with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency to bring additional supplies into the community.Photo via the City of Copperhill Facebook page.In a Facebook post, the city thanked volunteers from Buck Bald Brewing, Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, Copper Basin Credit Union, the McCaysville Police Department, Fannin County Emergency Management, McCaysville’s maintenance department and dozens of residents who helped unload the shipment Monday evening.”You gave up your evening for people you may never meet, and that is what makes this place home,” the city wrote.Officials also thanked Sen. Tom Hatcher and Polk County Executive Robby Hatcher for helping connect the city with TEMA, as well as Tarver Distributing, which supplied the first round of bottled water distributed Monday.Photo via the City of Copperhill Facebook page.We previously reported that the flooding over the weekend strained the area’s water system and prompted a boil water advisory. McCaysville’s public safety director also told us the flooding was caused by drainage problems associated with ongoing road construction rather than the nearby river.The boil water advisory remains in effect.Depend on us to keep you posted.
