A boil water advisory is in effect in Flowery Branch for Carriage Crossing, Waterstone Crossing and Clarkstone Village after storm water washed out a culvert overnight at Cantrell Road near Victoria Drive.

The Flowery Branch Police Department issued the notice online about the road damage and boil water notice Friday morning, June 1. A flooded Flowery Branch Creek overtopped Spring Street, but didn’t damage the road, and blew out Cantrell after heavy rain swept through the area in the night.

The water advisory is in effect until 9 a.m. Saturday, when the city hopes to have normal water pressure restored after pipes were damaged at Cantrell Road Bridge, which sits east of downtown Flowery Branch in a residential area.

About 3 inches of rain fell on Flowery Branch in the past 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service in Peachtree City.

Flowery Branch City Manager Bill Andrew told The Times the notice is a precaution. Water lines were exposed when the road washed out, and there’s a chance silt or other debris could have gotten into the line. The lines should be flushed and safe by Saturday morning.

“The utilities are functioning now and should continue to function,” he said.

However, the road itself will be impassable for three to four months, according to Andrew. He’s preparing a declaration of emergency that will allow the Flowery Branch City Council to skip the state-mandated 30-day bid period and hire a contractor to repair the road.

While there’s a bypass to the Cantrell Road Bridge — meaning no residents are trapped by the destroyed road — gas and water lines have been exposed and are vulnerable to further damage.

The gulf in the road is more than 20 feet wide and growing, Andrew said, as more water flows through the creek and eats at the dirt underneath Cantrell. To repair Cantrell Road, a contractor will likely have to divert Flowery Branch Creek to pour concrete for a new culvert.

Cantrell suffered damage during Flowery Branch’s last major rain event in 2013, the last time Spring Street blew out in the city, Andrew said. At that time, the city and its contractor found the Cantrell Road culvert had also been damaged but was not at risk of immediate failure.

As a result, the city has in its budget the $454,000 needed to replace the culvert. It planned to get the project started earlier but held off to secure a grant for the work from the Georgia Department of Transportation.

“Literally, we got an estimate on doing all of this maybe a couple of months ago,” Andrew said.

If the emergency declaration is approved by the council next week, repairs to the culvert could begin in the next two weeks.