COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — Collinsville has lifted its boil order after a massive water main break earlier in the week.
Officials announced Saturday that the order had been lifted as of 1:15 p.m.
The water main break happened at around 10 p.m. Tuesday in front of the Collinsville water plant along Collinsville Road. The water department said a fitting on the 20-inch pipe came loose.
Workers found the break Wednesday after hours of excavating and replaced the pipe. Once water was restored, residents were still asked to boil water for at least 5 minutes before using until the boil order was lifted.
"it can carry 5 million gallons a day through it easily," Collinsville Public Works Director Dennis Kress said of the water main. "We have two elevated towers, a half million gallons each and they emptied in a matter of minutes."
The water department said the repair was "crucial" as it had some water in ground storage, but it wasn't enough to provide the whole city with water.
Ameren assisted Collinsville with the water main break.
Collinsville provided bottled water at City Hall and the Fire Department along Main Street.
This water main break affected about 30,000 residents. The water department said when the water line ruptured, the pressure dropped quickly, which could have caused those who live in high ground areas to be without water entirely.
The City of Collinsville made a post on Facebook about the boil order and said in addition to boiling water, residents needed to turn off ice makers and discard any ice produced while the order was in effect.
The Collinsville School District told 5 On Your Side it delivered hundreds of cases of clean water to schools Wednesday morning. At affected schools, sinks and water fountains were taped off so students wouldn't drink or use contaminated water.
Some schools don't use city water, so those schools were not affected by the water main break. The school district continued with its school day as scheduled.
This is a developing story and will be updated as 5 On Your Side receives more information.