A boil order was lifted early Thursday for some parts of Chicago following a high-pressure water main break at a 112-year-old pumping station earlier this week, Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications said.
The break occurred Tuesday at the Roseland Pumping Station, with parts of Beverly, Morgan Park and Auburn Gresham impacted, the city said. All buildings and homes east of Sacramento Avenue, north of 119th Street, west of I-57, south of 87th Street, and southwest of Beverly Avenue were under the order.
"Residents should bring water to a full rolling boil for at least five minutes to ensure it's safe for consumption," the city said. "Boiled water may be stored at room temperature or refrigerated in a closed container until needed."
The order applied to water for drinking, making ice cubes, washing foods, washing dishes, brushing teeth, or any other activity involving water consumption, the city said.
Water for laundry, watering lawns, and taking showers do not need to be boiled, the city added.
According to the city, the main break was repaired and the main was fully pressurized. The order was lifted Thursday morning after the Chicago Department of Water Management's water testing concluded the water was safe to drink.
Officials recommend residents adhere to the following steps after a boil advisory has been lifted:
- Flush all faucets. Run all cold-water faucets for 5 minutes. Instructions for intensive flushing can be found here.
- Flush drinking fountains by continuously running for 5 minutes.
- Flush automatic icemakers. Make 3 batches of ice and discard all 3 batches.
- Drain and refill hot water tanks.
- If you have a water softener, run water through a regeneration cycle.
- If you have a point of use or inline water filters, sediment and/or Reverse Osmosis systems perform the recommended filter change or back-wash in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications.
- Drain reservoirs in large buildings that have water-holding reservoirs.
- Flush water coolers: run coolers with direct water connections for 5 minutes.
- Re-start and flush any water-using fixture in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications.
Wednesday, long lines of cars wrapped around the block at Ridge Park, where free bottled water was given out to residents. By 12:30 p.m., the city had already gone through 1,000 cases of water.
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"We can't use our fountain machine, obviously no washing dishes, no washing hands, no drinking water," Austyn Nuzzo, a manager at the restaurant Nicky's of Beverly said Wednesday.
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"It really makes it difficult for the guys in the back. Obviously people aren't happy when they can't get their fountain drinks."
