Could take days or weeks for Georgetown gas leak evacuation to be lifted

GEORGETOWN, Texas (FOX 7 Austin) - A week and counting, this is how long several families in Georgetown have been away from their home following a gas leak evacuation.

Atmos Energy met with those impacted to answer some much needed questions like when will they be able to go home. Unfortunately they could not answer that question.

This left a lot of businesses and home owners frustrated. 40 businesses and families are still impacted.

Wednesday Atmos Energy explained they found several leaks last week and are not sure how long they have been leaking. They did say all the leaks are now fixed but the issue is the gas which is now in the soil.

Before they can let people back home or work they have to make sure it gets out of the ground.

As repairs continue the days away from home grow longer.

“Between my husband and I we’ve been here everyday to get stuff or check on stuff,” said April Owens.

Owens along with several other families are now staying in a nearby hotel as a gas leak near River Bend and Williams drive in Georgetown forced them to evacuate.

“It’s nice and all but it’s not but it’s not home you know,” said Owens.

What she thought would be a few hours away from home has turned into a week and counting.

“It could be another week, it could be another two weeks, we don’t even know,” said Owens.

Their street is blocked off and getting access to their houses isn’t easy.

“They have to go in the house with me and check the gas levels can’t turn the lights on but better safe then sorry you know,” said Owens.

This leak also impacting families who aren’t in the evacuation area.

Barry Barnett is one of these homeowners. He said his gas was shut off for a couple days.

“Didn’t have any heat didn’t have hot water,” said Barnett.

The noise of construction is now a familiar sound in Barnett’s area as Atmos Energy crews work around the clock.

“It’s been noisy my dogs are about to have a nervous breakdown but it hasn’t been excessive to where you couldn’t sleep,” said Barnett.

Despite the constant noise,Barnett says he’s willing to put up with it.

“I can’t say enough about the crew here they’ve been working on it has hard and fast as they can,” said Barnett.

As the work continues, both ownes and Barnett are ready for the day their neighborhood returns to normal.

Atmos Energy said the recent wet weather is making it difficult