Pascagoula schools resume classes, location of city water leak located

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (WLOX) - Schools in Pascagoula reopened Wednesday after students were sent home the day before due to low water pressure.

Students and faculty at Central Elementary School are happy to be back in the classroom.

Myranda Lee teaches second graders. She said she’s glad to be reunited with her students after the boil water notice halted learning.

“Very glad to be back in the classroom and having all the kids back,” Lee said. “We roll with it, we are flexible, we’re adapted and it’s kind of what we do best, being flexible and changing our schedule if needed.”

Principal Angela Burch said she’s proud of how her school cooperated during the advisory.

“Our students and our parents are awesome,” Burch said. “I can’t say enough about our staff and what they’ve done to get through this little minor bump in the road.”

Pascagoula City Manager Michael Silverman said the water leak that caused schools and businesses to close is fixed. He said the issue involved a corroded valve in Chicot Bayou.

“The valve was located in the center of the bayou. Over time, with the salinity and water going over the valve, that led to corrosion,” Silverman said. “Simply put, if the valve had been on land, more than likely, this would not have been an issue.”

Billy Ellzey, Pascagoula-Gautier school superintendent, said his district is always prepared if a boil water notice is issued.

“We’ll just have to look at what we can do as far as the future,” Ellzey said. “We hope that this does not happen as far as pressure reduction. We’ll continue to monitor it and decide what we need to do as far as future things come.”

Lee said she’s glad the water pressure is back up, at least for now.

“No one likes to miss school or have the schedule change and leave early,” Lee said. “I know that’s hard on parents, but we just do what we have to do and keep on going.”

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