Major water leak leaves all of Walhalla with little to no water pressure, officials say
WYFF NEWS FOUR AT SIX STARTS RIGHT NOW. ONE MORE DAY WITH BRUTAL HEAT AND HUMIDITY AND A CHANCE FOR STORMS. THEN COMES THE WEEKEND. I’LL DETAIL IT FOR YOU. I WATCHED AS SLED ENTERED TOWN HALL TODAY. I’M MIKE PATTON IN CALHOUN FALLS. IT’S A VISIT THAT TOOK AROUND TWO HOURS. THE LATEST COMING UP DATA SHOWS MORE THAN A THIRD OF REPORTED WHOOPING COUGH CASES IN SOUTH CAROLINA CAN BE FOUND IN TWO UPSTATE COUNTIES. WHO DOCTORS SAY IS MOST AT RISK. WE BEGIN WITH WEATHER TONIGHT ON WYFF NEWS FOUR AT SIX. IT IS ANOTHER LIVE SUPER DOPPLER FOUR IMPACT DAY DUE TO HEAT AND STORMS. CHIEF METEOROLOGIST CHRIS JUSTUS JOINS US WITH THE AREA’S CERTIFIED MOST ACCURATE FORECAST. CHRIS, WHAT ARE WE SEEING ON THE RADAR? YEAH, VERY MUGGY ENVIRONMENT, VERY HOT OUT. AND THOSE STORMS THAT ROLL THROUGH ARE LONG GONE. SO OUR ATMOSPHERE IS ACTUALLY RECOVERED IN SOME LOCATIONS. YOU SEE THIS LINE BACK TOWARD THE WEST TRYING TO HOLD TOGETHER. BUT AS IT PUSHES IN, IT’S REALIZING THIS ATMOSPHERE IS ALREADY WORKED OVER. THERE’S SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EAST OF HERE IN COLUMBIA, OVER TOWARD THE MYRTLE BEACH AREA. AS WE ZOOM IN CLOSER LIVE SUPER DOPPLER FOUR SHOWING MOST OF US ARE DRY EXCEPT FOR GAFFNEY AND UNION. WHILE THERE’S SOME VERY ELECTRICAL STORMS MOVING INTO PARTS OF MACON COUNTY, INTO JACKSON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, THIS LINE BACK TOWARD THE WEST IS TRYING TO HOLD TOGETHER FOR CLARKSVILLE. TOCCOA. YOU MAY SEE ANOTHER DOWNPOUR IN CLEMSON OR SENECA. IT IS CERTAINLY WARM AND MUGGY OUT 83 IN GREENVILLE, 86 IN ANDERSON, A RAIN-COOLED 75, THOUGH IN SPARTANBURG, GENERALLY SPEAKING, THAT RAIN REALLY HELPED US OUT FROM BEING OVERLY HOT TO AT LEAST MANAGEABLE. TOMORROW MORNING WE’LL WAKE UP TO THE LOW 70S AND DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN, BUT THIS TIME WITH A BETTER CHANCE FOR STRONGER STORMS TOMORROW. I’LL SHOW YOU THE TIMING IN JUST A FEW MINUTES. CHRIS. THANK YOU. NEWS FOUR INVESTIGATES. WE CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS SURROUNDING THE BUDGET IN CALHOUN FALLS. TODAY, THERE WAS A BUZZ CIRCULATING AROUND TOWN THAT THE STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION, OR SLED WOULD BE VISITING TOWN HALL BACK IN JUNE. WE TOLD YOU ABOUT THE AGENCY’S INVESTIGATION INTO THE TOWN AFTER A STATE ORDERED AUDIT LABELED THE TOWN AT HIGH RISK FOR FRAUD. OUR MIKE PATTON EXPLAINS WHAT SHE SAW TODAY, AND IT’S ALL NEW. AT SIX. WELL, THE RUMORS ARE TRUE. I WAS HERE AS SLED MADE THEIR WAY INSIDE OF TOWN HALL. AS FAR AS THE CONVERSATIONS THAT TOOK PLACE. WELL, THOSE HAPPEN BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. BUT HERE’S WHAT I DO KNOW. ARE YOU GENTLEMEN WITH SLED? I’M WITH SLED. YES, MA’AM. OKAY. YES, SIR. ONE BY ONE, SLED AND TOWN LEADERS WERE SEEN LEAVING OUT OF THIS DOOR, LABELED MAYOR WITH A WELCOME MAT THAT HAS MAYOR TIRICO, HOLLAND FACE AND NAME ON IT. WE KNOW SLED IS INVESTIGATING AFTER A STATE ORDERED AUDIT FLAG. CALHOUN FALLS AS A HIGH RISK FOR FRAUD UNDER MAYOR HOLLAND’S TENURE. THE TOWN IS ALSO FACING A $400,000 LAWSUIT FROM ITS WATER SUPPLIER, ABBEVILLE CITY. THEN THERE’S A $690,000 LEASE PURCHASE AGREEMENT THAT SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS SAY WAS SIGNED BY THE MAYOR WITHOUT COUNCIL’S APPROVAL. WE DID NOT SEE THE MAYOR ENTER OR EXIT TOWN HALL. ONLY THE CLERK COURT AND NOW ACTING TOWN CLERK STEPHANIE MCELRATH, WHO WAS SEEN CARRYING PAPERWORK AND THE CHIEF OF POLICE, TIM RITCHIE. AFTER SLED LEFT, I CAUGHT UP WITH CHIEF RICHEY, HE SAID HE COULD NOT DISCUSS THE MEETING BECAUSE IT IS AN ACTIVE INVESTIGATION, BUT DID SAY THIS WAS SLED’S FIRST VISIT THIS WEEK. SLEDS VISIT ITSELF TOOK AROUND TWO HOURS. I REACHED OUT TO THE MAYOR FOR COMMENT. I’M STILL WAITING TO HEAR BACK IN CALHOUN FALLS. I’M MIKE PATTON, WYFF NEWS FOUR. A POLICE CHASE THAT STARTED IN SPARTANBURG COUNTY ENDED IN A CRASH IN GREENVILLE. DEPUTIES SAY THEY SAW A WOMAN ASSAULTING A MAN IN A TRUCK, WHICH HAPPENED ON ASHEVILLE HIGHWAY, HERRON CIRCLE. WHEN THE DEPUTY TRIED TO PULL THE TRUCK OVER, THE DRIVER DROVE OFF ONTO BUSINESS 85 AND THEN INTERSTATE 85. DEPUTIES SAY THEY DROPPED SPIKE STRIPS, BUT THE CAR WAS ABLE TO KEEP GOING WITH ITS RIMS. EVENTUALLY, THE CAR WAS STOPPED ON VERDAE BOULEVARD NEAR WOODRUFF ROAD. BOTH PEOPLE IN THE VEHICLE WERE ARRESTED. SOUTH CAROLINA HIGHWAY PATROL HAS RELEASED NEW DETAILS ABOUT A CRASH THAT LEFT A MAN DEAD IN GREENVILLE COUNTY. TROOPERS SAY IT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT, ABOUT 930 ON FAIRVIEW ROAD IN SIMPSONVILLE. THEY SAY A VEHICLE HIT A PEDESTRIAN WHO WAS WALKING ON FAIRVIEW ROAD. THE CORONER SAYS JORGE GARCIA MORALES OF FOUNTAIN INN DIED. THE CORONER IS RULING HIS DEATH AN ACCIDENT. IN COMMITMENT 2025 COVERAGE. WE ARE GETTING NEW EARLY VOTING NUMBERS FOR SPARTANBURG COUNTY. ACCORDING TO ELECTION OFFICIALS, MORE THAN 4100 PEOPLE HAVE VOTED. EARLY VOTING ENDS TOMORROW. VOTERS ARE DECIDING WHO WILL FILL THE UNEXPIRED TERMS OF SPARTANBURG COUNTY SHERIFF AND COUNTY COUNCIL. DISTRICT THREE. ELECTION DAY IS AUGUST 5TH. SOUTH CAROLINA DATA SHOWS THERE’S A GROWING NUMBER OF REPORTED CASES OF PERTUSSIS, KNOWN AS WHOOPING COUGH, ACROSS THE STATE. THE DATA ALSO SHOWS ALSO SHOWS THAT TWO UPSTATE COUNTIES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MORE THAN A THIRD OF THOSE REPORTED CASES. REY LLERENA IS LIVE IN GREENVILLE. RAY. DOCTORS SAY YOUNG CHILDREN ARE MOST AT RISK OF COMPLICATIONS, RIGHT? ABSOLUTELY. SYDNEY. AND DOCTORS SAY THAT A LOT OF THESE WHOOPING COUGH CASES ARE ASSOCIATED ASSOCIATED WITH CHILDREN UP TO SIX YEARS OLD, AND THEY CAN GET SEVERE SYMPTOMS IF THEY ARE INFECTED WITH THIS ILLNESS. WHEN THEY SAY THOSE SYMPTOMS CAN SOMETIMES LAST FOR MONTHS. SO FAR THIS YEAR, THERE ARE 24 CASES OF WHOOPING COUGH HERE IN GREENVILLE COUNTY AND 45 OVER IN SPARTANBURG COUNTY. IN TOTAL, THE SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH SAYS THERE’S MORE THAN 180 CASES STATEWIDE. DOCTORS SAY WHOOPING COUGH CAN CAUSE A SEVERE COUGHING FIT THAT CAN MAKE IT HARD FOR PEOPLE TO BREATHE, AND IS PREVENTABLE WITH VACCINATION. THEY SAY THE ILLNESS SPREADS THROUGH DROPLETS AFTER PEOPLE SNEEZE OR COUGH. DOCTOR STEPHEN JONES WITH PARKSIDE PEDIATRICS, SAYS SOME OF THE SCARIEST PATIENTS HE’S HAD HAVE HAD WHOOPING COUGH. YOU JUST SEE THEM IN IN RESPIRATORY FAILURE, ESSENTIALLY, AND, YOU KNOW, YOU SEE THESE LITTLE BABIES. ALL THEY’RE TRYING TO DO IS BREATHE. AND THEY CAN’T BECAUSE THEY’RE JUST COUGHING, COUGHING, COUGHING. DOCTORS SAY THEY ALSO RECOMMEND THE VACCINE FOR PREGNANT WOMEN BECAUSE THEY CAN PASS OFF ANTIBODIES TO THEIR CHILD. THEY RECOMMEND TO PARENTS TO WATCH THEIR CHILDREN AND TO TAKE THEM TO A PEDIATRICIAN OR EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT FOR CONCERNS ABOUT THEIR COUGH. IF YOU WOULD LIKE A MORE DETAILED BREAKDOWN OF ALL OF THE WHOOPING COUGH CASES HERE IN THE UPSTATE AND ACROSS THE STATE, FOR THAT MATTER, YOU CAN FIND THAT ON WYFF4.COM DOT COM. REPORTING LIVE IN GREENVILLE, REY LLERENA WYFF NEWS FOUR. THANK YOU RAY. TODAY IN GREENVILLE, SHRINERS CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL SAID FAREWELL TO ITS LONGEST SERVING SURGEON, DOCTOR PETE ELLIS IS RETIRING. HE JOINED SHRINERS CHILDREN’S GREENVILLE IN 1997 AND PIONEERED THE USE OF MEDICAL TESTING IN SOUTH CAROLINA. DOCTOR PETE HAS SAVED HUNDREDS OF CHILDREN FROM THE NEED FOR SPINE SURGERY DURING HIS CAREER. THE MIT EDUCATED SURGEON, WHO WORKED AS AN ENGINEER BEFORE RETURNING TO MEDICAL SCHOOL, ALSO ONCE SERVED AS THE HOSPITAL’S CHIEF OF STAFF BEFORE SURRENDERING THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES SO THAT HE COULD RETURN TO FULL TIME PATIENT CARE. DOCTOR PETE WAS CELEBRATED AT THE HOSPITAL THIS AFTERNOON. TODAY IS BONE CRUSHING FOR ME AS I’M RETIRING AND PEOPLE HAVE BEEN CONGRATULATING ME, BUT THAT’S ALMOST THE WRONG THING TO DO ON A DAY LIKE TODAY FOR A PHYSICIAN THAT WORKS HERE. BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MUCH FUN AND IT’S SUCH A PLEASURE TO WORK HERE, WORKING WITH THE KIDS AND EVERYTHING, THAT I’M GOING TO MISS IT TERRIBLY. DOCTOR PETE WAS PERSONALLY TRAINED BY THE BRITISH SCOLIOSIS SPECIALIST WHO
Major water leak leaves all of Walhalla with little to no water pressure, officials say
Updated: 11:17 PM EDT Jul 31, 2025
A boil water advisory is in effect for ALL residents in Walhalla, South Carolina, after a major water leak left the city with little to no water pressure.Around 5:30 p.m. Thursday, the City of Walhalla Water Department said crews are responding to a major water line leak that has resulted in low or no water pressure throughout the city.A boil water advisory is in effect for ALL water users until further notice. All residents of Walhalla are advised to boil water vigorously for at least three minutes before using it for drinking, cooking, or brushing teeth.Around 6:35 p.m., City Administrator Celia Myers said repairs are nearing completion. However, water pressure will be fully restored overnight.More information will be released soon.
OCONEE COUNTY, S.C. —
A boil water advisory is in effect for ALL residents in Walhalla, South Carolina, after a major water leak left the city with little to no water pressure.
Around 5:30 p.m. Thursday, the City of Walhalla Water Department said crews are responding to a major water line leak that has resulted in low or no water pressure throughout the city.
A boil water advisory is in effect for ALL water users until further notice.
All residents of Walhalla are advised to boil water vigorously for at least three minutes before using it for drinking, cooking, or brushing teeth.
Around 6:35 p.m., City Administrator Celia Myers said repairs are nearing completion. However, water pressure will be fully restored overnight.
More information will be released soon.