The cause of the big Thanksgiving boil – WLDS | So Good News

An unusually large boil order was issued in Jacksonville on Thanksgiving Day because of an industrial service line failure.

The Jacksonville Water Treatment Plant began receiving calls about low water pressure on the city’s west side around 9:30 a.m. Thursday. Municipal Chief Ricky Hearin said that’s when workers at the water treatment plant noticed a sudden spike in water usage.

Given the amount of water Hearin is using, it’s clear this isn’t your average water main shower. “It just got worse and we lost a lot of water from the veterans. [Park] the tower It went down pretty quickly. We had to get the lake water, put out the water plant, and try to catch up with it, but we were still losing water.

At that time, people driving through the streets were forced to look for this bathroom, looking for sewers and water. They found it behind Nestlé’s building, where their power line was cut. It’s a ten-inch main feed, so our water goes out into the field.”

The Jacksonville water plant feeds water from the Illinois River, which is pumped from a station near Naples. Lake Mauvaisterre serves as an emergency backup for the plant.

The average water main supplying Jacksonville neighborhoods is four to six inches in diameter, compared to the ten-inch line that broke Thursday morning. Once the rupture occurred, Nestlé maintenance workers were able to shut off the line and the water plant was able to build pressure in the system again, Hearin said.

Hearin said the pressure dropped to such a low level that state regulations required the issuance of a boil order. “One of our systems is down; It’s in Nestlé’s fire line, so our pipes are still intact. But it’s still low enough pressure, as they say, that sometimes things can get sucked into your water lines. So it’s just a precaution to make sure everyone is safe.”

Hearin said the curfew, which covers much of the southwest part of the city, is likely to remain in effect until early next week. He said the EPA lab is closed until Monday, so water samples from the system cannot be collected and sent.

Hearin expects the results to come in late Tuesday or early Wednesday, which would allow the order to be lifted. But for now, residents in flood-affected areas are being asked to boil all water used for cooking and drinking.

As of this morning, the water system has returned to normal operating levels and there are no restrictions on water consumption at this time, he said.

We will provide you with updates on the status of the cooking order as soon as it becomes available.

A boil order is now in effect in the following areas until further notice (see map): From the north side of West Morton Avenue to West Lafayette Avenue between South Westgate Avenue and Illinois Route 104; Includes all residences from South Westgate to South Grand between Mound Road and West Lafayette Avenue.