DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — In DeKalb County, the boil water advisory has now been lifted.

Dekalb CEO Michael Thurmond made the announcement on Wednesday.

“When you’re in subzero temperatures for multiple days, the materials themselves just can’t stand up,” said Thurmond of the county’s water lines.

Thurmond said the county made major progress over the past few days, fixing at least 17 water main breaks, and restoring water service to many residents.

Thurmond says the county will now look to improve the pipes – using what happened over the past few days as an important lesson.

“Very little infrastructure was designed to operate in the Arctic vortex that we’ve had. They’re just not designed for that,” said Thurmond. “That’s why you’re having breaks all over DeKalb, all over Atlanta.”

But some neighbors say the county could also do a better job communicating with residents the next time Old Man Winter strikes.

Some say they were given little information, about why their water was out for days.

“It’s not their fault that the weather did what it did, but as a community we should have better communication. We should know what’s going on,” said DeKalb resident Sherrell Anderson.

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