BPW

09/07/2026

We have sent the crews home to sleep. They worked 27 hours and out of 4,016 customers out, there are currently only 18 remaining, which will require several hours of work to get back on. If you are one of those still out, please know that we will be at it again at 7am, and we apologize that we were unable to get to you today but the safety of our crews had to be considered.

Our guys are THE BEST. They never complain, they just work.

Thank you all for your patience as eighteen men worked tirelessly to bring power back to the City.

09/07/2026

🇺🇸 LABOR DAY | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

While our BPW offices will be closed today in observance of Labor Day, the work doesn’t stop.

Our community has been hit hard by recent storms, and our crews have been working around the clock to restore power and help our community recover.

We are especially grateful for employees at BPW who show up, serve our community and do the hard work, even on a holiday.

To every BPW employee working through this storm recovery: thank you. We see your dedication, and we are grateful for you.

Happy Labor Day and thank you to all who work hard to keep our community moving forward. 🇺🇸

09/06/2026

1:00pm Update: We are down to around 170 outages. Crews have been fed and are back at it. Needless to say, they are exhausted. Unfortunately we cannot give an estimate on complete restoration as this storm was widespread across our City and we are dealing with various problems on each line we work on. Thank you for your continued patience.

Monday 8:20am Update: We currently still have 350 customers without power. Our crews have worked all night and will continue working until we are fully restored. Thank you for your patience.

11:55 Update: We still have 746 outages and our crews are still working. This is the largest outage we have experienced since Helene. Our crews are having trouble getting down streets due to trees, etc. The City of Gaffney crews and SCDOT are working hard alongside our guys to clear trees and roads. If you have to be outside, be safe and stay away from downed lines.

We thank you for your patience and most importantly, your prayers, for all those out working in these conditions. Please remember, these men left their families at home in the midst of this storm, many of which also have no power, in order to do their job in restoring power to our customers.

8:12 Update: Crews will be working through the night to restore power. In an outage such as this, crews fix problems that benefit the most people first in this order:

Substations
Main Distribution Lines
Taps off Distribution Lines
Individual Service Drops

We also want to point you to our outage map at https://www.gbpw.com/outages/outage-map which is live.

5:53 Update: Our crews are continuing to work to remove trees, repair poles, and other necessary tasks to restore power as quickly and as safely as possible. There are trees down all over the City and County. Please know that we are working diligently to restore power. Thank you for your patience.

We currently have several circuits out due to the storm. Our crews are responding. We will keep our page updated as progress is made.

09/05/2026

We have a small outage around Richardson St, Russell St., and Indian Hill St. Our crews are responding.

09/05/2026

The Boil Water Advisory has been repealed.

09/04/2026

Please note that the Boil Water Advisory for the Cherokee Falls area remains in place while additional testing is completed.

BPW has issued the attached Boil Water Advisory for customers in the Cherokee Falls and surrounding areas of Blacksburg. You can also view the advisory on our website at: https://www.gbpw.com/service-updates

09/03/2026

1:49pm Update Water has been restored.

Crews are onsite of a watermain break around Kelly St. During this time, customers along Kelly St., Gardner St., and Littlejohn St. will experience low to no water until repairs are made. Estimated time of completion is 1pm. We will update this post as needed.

09/02/2026

🚧 ROAD CLOSURE – PLEASANT MEADOWS DRIVE

Please be advised that Pleasant Meadows Drive will be closed between 116 and 118 Pleasant Meadows Drive beginning today, September 2, as BPW crews upgrade a sewer main in the area.

The closure is expected to last approximately three weeks while crews cross the roadway and complete necessary connections to the existing sewer infrastructure.

Please plan ahead and use an alternate route during this time.
We’ll update the closure information when work is complete and the road is reopened to normal traffic.

👉 For the latest information on this and other scheduled closures, visit: https://www.gbpw.com/service-updates

09/02/2026

🚨 PUBLIC NOTICE: UNAUTHORIZED FIRE HYDRANT USE CAUSED BOIL WATER NOTICE

BPW is notifying customers that multiple fire hydrants were opened without authorization, resulting in a significant loss of water and a drop in water pressure in the Cherokee Falls area of Blacksburg on Monday, September 1st.

Because the system lost pressure, BPW was required to issue a precautionary boil water notice to protect public health. There is currently no confirmed contamination of the water system. However, when water pressure drops, there is a possibility that contaminants could enter the distribution system, which is why the boil water notice is necessary.

⚠️ THIS IS NOT HARMLESS

Opening a fire hydrant without authorization can release hundreds or even thousands of gallons of water in a short period of time. In a small water system, this can quickly deplete water storage and cause pressure to collapse.

Unauthorized hydrant use can result in:

💧 Loss of water service
🚒 Reduced water availability for firefighting
⚠️ Loss of pressure in water mains
🦠 Potential for contamination of the drinking-water system
📢 Boil water notices
🔧 Damage to water-system infrastructure
💰 Significant costs for emergency response, flushing and testing

Most importantly, opening a hydrant can put the entire community at risk. If system water and pressure are depleted, adequate water may not be available for firefighters responding to an emergency.

⚖️ IT IS ALSO AGAINST SOUTH CAROLINA LAW

South Carolina Code § 5-31-1110 makes it unlawful for an unauthorized person to “interfere with or open for any purpose whatever” a fire hydrant connected to a municipal waterworks system without proper authorization, except as permitted by law.

Under S.C. Code § 5-31-1170, a violation is a misdemeanor punishable by:

• A fine
• Up to 60 days imprisonment
• Or both

Depending on the circumstances and any resulting damage, other laws or penalties may also apply.

👀 SEE SOMETHING? REPORT IT.

If you see anyone opening, using, tampering with, or otherwise messing with a fire hydrant, please report it to the Gaffney Board of Public Works immediately.

📞 Gaffney BPW: 864-488-8800

Help us protect our water system and our community.

09/01/2026

BPW has issued the attached Boil Water Advisory for customers in the Cherokee Falls and surrounding areas of Blacksburg. You can also view the advisory on our website at: https://www.gbpw.com/service-updates