PEARSON, Ga. (WALB) – Atkinson County Schools are shutting down Friday after continued concerns over water safety in the City of Pearson.

On Tuesday, Aug. 19, the district cut off school water service at 1 p.m. while students were still in class. Since then, neither students nor staff have had access to safe drinking water. The district has been relying on bottled water brought in by Atkinson County EMA/Fire to get by.

Parents told WALB News 10 they are frustrated by what they see as a lack of transparency and accountability.

“It makes me so mad that there’s traces of whatever this is that they can’t confirm what it is in the water. It upsets me when my children are at the school and their access to water is being limited,” one parent said.

The water problems have also changed daily routines for students. With no running water, playgrounds, water fountains, and sinks have been off-limits, leaving children with only hand sanitizer to use for hygiene.

“He enjoys his outside time at the school, but with water being an issue, this restricted outside time is a major problem,” parent Dasha James said.

Other parents said the issue goes beyond schools, pointing to repeated boil water advisories across the city.

“They have to boil their water. And if you don’t tell people they are under a boil advisory, they are drinking that nasty water. It makes me mad that the city isn’t doing anything about this… something has got to give with the city of Pearson. It’s ridiculous,” another parent said.

WALB News 10 stopped by Pearson City Hall Thursday afternoon, but staff said no one was available to give a statement. Parents said that without media coverage, the city would not be addressing the issue at all.

“It is affecting our children, and something has to be done. Other than the media projecting everything that’s going on, there wouldn’t be any kind of help for Pearson,” James said.

In a statement on Thursday, the Atkinson County School System said schools will remain closed Friday, August 22, while new test results are reviewed. District leaders said they hope to resume a regular schedule on Monday, August 25, pending satisfactory water test results.

• Bottled water has been provided for students and staff.
• Water fountains remain off.
• Hand sanitizer is available in restrooms.
• All school activities are canceled on Friday, except the away varsity football game.

The district said new water samples were collected Thursday morning, with results expected Friday.

Late Thursday, the City of Pearson addressed what it called misinformation on social media, saying no positive test results for E. coli have been detected so far. Officials said the initial test came back inconclusive, and a retest is underway.

“At this time, no positive test results for E. coli have been detected in our water system. The initial sample returned as inconclusive. Tindall Laboratories has conducted a retest, and we are currently awaiting those results.

A precautionary Boil Water Advisory is required by law whenever a main water line breaks. During repairs, water pressure may drop, which could allow microbial contamination. This advisory is issued purely out of caution to ensure public safety.”

City officials said they are working with state and federal guidelines and promised to notify residents immediately if contaminants are confirmed.

WALB News 10 reached out directly to Tindall Laboratories, but no one answered.

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