Charlotte school uses buckets to flush toilets
No water available for two days after water main broke
Teachers and staff used buckets to flush toilets, and students had no water to wash their hands Friday at Whitewater Academy after a water main broke Thursday, a parent whose child attends the school told The Charlotte Observer.
The parent, who wished to remain anonymous, said teachers and staff members used buckets to flush toilets for students but “only after each class not after each student” when water service was interrupted to the building. For two days, the parent and a teacher’s spouse told the Observer, some parents were so concerned about conditions they took their children home early.
The parent and teacher’s spouse confirmed the school had no water to drink, wash hands or flush toilets Thursday into Friday. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials said cases of water were available for students and staff Friday. Whitewater Academy serves about 780 pre-K through Grade 5 students.
The underground water pipe connecting Whitewater Academy and Whitewater Middle School broke Thursday. Both schools sit on White Rapids Road in northwest Charlotte.
Eddie Perez, a media relations specialist for CMS, told the Observer on Friday repairs were complete at Whitewater Middle and the building was fully functional. Repairs were not complete for Whitewater Academy and were expected to continue through the day. He said bottled water would continue to be supplied.
Cassie Fambro, a media relations specialist for CMS, said efforts were made to postpone the repairs until the school day was done. To mitigate the effects on students, operations personnel deployed “jet vacs” to force water and pressure to make toilets flush as well as custodial staff to maintain cleanliness.
“The water main break was certainly not ideal,” Fambro said. She added that “cases upon cases of water were brought to both schools and at no point were students ever without drinking water.”
Repairs at Whitewater Academy were expected to be complete Friday, pending weather interference.
The parent who spoke to the Observer said she’s upset there wasn’t more communication. She said parents received two voicemails from Principal Lauren Bloom, one Thursday and another Friday, but they didn’t explain the severity of the issue.
In the voicemail left Friday morning, Bloom said maintenance crews were working to resolve the issue as soon as possible in an effort to keep the school safe, clean and well-maintained. Learning and teaching have not been interrupted, functional restrooms are available for all students and staff, and the cafeteria continues to run as scheduled, Bloom said.
But the parent said she doesn’t consider using buckets to flush “functional.” The teacher’s spouse said the wait for the one working restroom was more than 30 minutes.