Authority Says Boil Water, Conserve Water

FARMINGTON — Washington Water Authority on Sunday urged its customers to practice water conservation while it worked to repair a water main washout that resulted from heavy flooding during the day.

Monday morning, the authority issued a boil order for its customers in southern Washington County. It urged residents to boil water briskly for one minute prior to using it for drinking or food preparation.

According to a notice from the authority, the boil order was issued as a precautionary measure because of the possibility that contaminated water may have entered the distribution system due to the washout and a partial loss in normal system pressure.

The boil order was to remain in effect until the problem was corrected and the water had been determined to be safe to drink, the notice said.

Flooding on Sunday washed out an 18-inch transmission water main in the Illinois River near Prairie Grove, according to Zak Johnston, utility engineer with the water authority. Johnston said the washout was in the river surrounded by fields. It occurred near the old train bridge, he said.

The water main serves all customers in the south, southwest and southeast portions of Washington County.

Washington Water Authority crews worked until about 3 a.m. Monday on the issue, Johnston said. They found the break, isolated it and separated it from the system. Parts to repair the washout were ordered about 1 a.m. Monday.

To supply water to customers, the authority began using water directly from its water tanks. That’s why water conservation was necessary, Johnston said, to extend the life of the water in the tanks.

Johnston said crews and a contractor would be on site to repair the washout Monday. The plan was to finish the repairs Monday and return to normal.

Johnson said several hundred customers were affected by the washout Sunday.

The authority issued a news release Sunday afternoon that asked for water conservation from all customers south of Farmington or Fayetteville.

The request was asked of anyone in the area between Farmington and Prairie Grove, customers around Hogeye, Strickler, Evansville, any WWA customer south of Prairie Grove, any customer South, East, or West of West Fork, all customers in the Sunset and Winslow Area.

The authority asked that water should only be used for human and animal use and consumption. It ordered all construction use to stop immediately.

COURTESY PHOTO Hunter Street next to Creekside Park in Farmington was flooded Sunday morning, along with many other streets and county roads in western Washington County. According to the National Weather Service, Drake Field in Fayetteville registered 4.27 inches of rain during a 12-hour period beginning midnight Saturday.