JC boil order issued

A ruptured 6-inch water main at Missouri American Water left most of its 11,000 customers without water Tuesday morning, causing schools to let out early and many employers to send their workers home.

Gilbert Cole, Missouri American's operations superintendent, said the rupture occurred about 7:55 a.m. He said no water damage was caused to the company's operations.

Although water pressure is back, the city will be under a boil order for 24 hours after Missouri American completes the required water testing.

That means the boil order could last for the next two or three days, Cole said.

"Basically, we are sorry it happened," Cole said. "But it's an old system, and we've got it under control, and we'll have water very shortly. In the meantime, we are getting some water from districts 1 and 2, but it's not their normal pressure."

That water still could be contaminated, and Gilbert advised people to still boil the water.

Missouri American provides water to about 75 percent of the city, with the two water districts supplying the remaining 25 percent.

Cole said Missouri American has contracted with Opies Transport to bring tankers of water to supply the two local hospitals, which have the most critical need for water in the city.

The water system that failed was a more than 90-year-old relief valve system, not part of the recent renovations to the system.

Rather than sending high pressure through the lines periodically when parts of the system are turned off and on, the relief system sends the quick bursts of pressure into Missouri American's clear wells, which is the water that has already been purified.

Some businesses, library close

Missouri River Regional Library announced it would close at noon today due to the water line break. The library is expected to resume regular business hours Wednesday.

Jefferson City Medical Group closed at noon. JCMG plans to open for patients on Wednesday during normal business hours. Patients who had an appointment scheduled for today will be contacted to reschedule, officials said.

Nichols Career Center cancelled their Tuesday evening classes.

Capitol City Children's Choir practice is cancelled this evening.

Many downtown restaurants are trying to make do with the water outage and keep their doors open today.

Downtown restaurants remaining open include:

Madison's Cafe

Downtown Diner

Subway

Tolson's

Spectator's

Bones in the Alley

Cafe Via Roma

Those closed by midday include:

Arris' Pizza

Chez Monet

J. Pfenny's Sports Grill & Pub

Coffee Zone

Grand Cafe closed for lunch, but is planning to open again at 5 p.m.

Earlier posted story ...

A 90-year-old pipe that leaves the Missouri American Water treatment plant on West Main Street broke around 8:05 a.m., Tuesday.

This left most homes and business with low pressure and caused a boil order to be issued.

Cole County Public Water District's #1 and #2 have interconnected pipes with the Missouri American system and they are helping to provide water.

That's causing pressure to go up in some areas.

Missouri American officials said they will have to flush out the system, bringing in crews from St. Louis to help.

They will have to take samples to make sure quality of water isn't compromised and won't know that for a while the results, meaning the boil order could be for an extended period of time.

Customers living in the boil advisory area need to bring their water to a rolling boil for five minutes before using it for drinking or cooking. Tap water is okay for washing/bathing.

The boil advisory will be in effect until water quality samples confirm that the water remains safe for consumption.

Boil advisories normally last 24 to 36 hours after repairs are completed.

Customers will be notified when the boil water advisory is lifted.

Customers may call Missouri American Water's 24-hour Customer Service Center at 1-866-430-0820 for more information.

Customers living in the boil advisory area need to bring their water to a rolling boil for five minutes before using it for drinking or cooking. Tap water is okay for washing/bathing.

The Cole County Jail, Truman Building and other major facilities are all affected by reduced pressure from the outage.

None of the four public water districts in Cole County are affected by this, only Missouri American.

Helias High School announced they were letting classes out at 10 a.m. due to the break. St. Joseph is dismissing at 10:30 a.m. and Immaculate Conception is dismissing at 11 a.m.

Kirchner State School is also letting classes out immediately due to the break.

Jefferson City Public Schools will dismiss schools three and half hours from the time school started. So, if your child's school started at 8 a.m., they will be dismissed at 11:30 a.m.; if the school started at 8:30 a.m. they will dismiss at noon, and if school started at 9 a.m. they will dismiss at 12:30 p.m. Buses will run regular routes.

St. Peter's will dismiss at 12:30 p.m.

The Cole County Commission issued an emergency order closing only those county facilities affected by the water problem.

Emergency personnel, as determined by department heads or elected officials are expected to remain at work.

Jefferson City Fire Department Spokesman Jason Turner said, "It's been business as usual despite the break. We've reached out to neighboring department to let them know we may need tankers. We also called in some off-duty personnel to possibly man additional equipment. We also assisted both St. Mary's and Capital Region Hospitals with their needs."

Capital Region Hospital reported they had delivered bottled water to all their patients. The fire department provided water to make sure that toilets can work for the time being. Hospital officials also reported that if they needed, Opie' s Truck Transport does have water trucks that can bring water to their facilities.

Some businesses decided to close because of the break.

Chez Monet announced on their Facebook page that they would close around 10:15 a.m.

In a tweet to their customers, Capital City Cork said, "We've used our last drop. No lunch service today."