OVERLAND, Mo. — After nearly nine hours, water was restored to residents after a main break in Overland. It impacted many homes and thousands of people.
It also forced Ritenour School District to release students early Wednesday due to a drop in water pressure.
According to a press release, the water main break impacted the school district and all Pre-K to grade 12 students were dismissed early.
According to Missouri American Water, the break happened around 8:30 a.m. on a 20-inch pipe on Burns Avenue and Midland Boulevard. The advisory impacted about 6,800 customers.
Water rushed down several residential streets, and homes were bombarded with several feet of water inside.
Neighbors on Pasteur Avenue say water main breaks have damaged their homes several times in the last few years.
"It looked like a river going through my backyard. My barn got completely flooded. There was probably a good two to three inches of water in there, and my equipment got flooded, so I don't know what's going to work and what's not," said one neighbor.
Some people couldn't leave their house for hours as they were trapped on their front porch.
"There were people everywhere. There was all the gravel and mud; my whole front yard was underwater, and my whole backyard was underwater. I'm like, 'Oh, not again.' You can't you can't see it happening. You can't hear it happening. And then it happens. What are you going to do? What can you do?" said neighbor Mickey Hollis.
Hollis woke up to almost four feet of water flooding his basement for the third time in recent years.
"It's happened before. So many of my things were already gone, so I didn't lose much this time. There's still residual water everywhere. But it's not unmanageable," said Hollis.
A temporary drop in water system pressure has caused a precautionary boil water advisory. Missouri American Water said this is a precaution and there is no evidence of water quality being compromised.
The advisory will be in effect for about 48 hours, an alert said. Customers will be alerted once the advisory has been lifted.
According to the alert, "any water to be used for drinking or cooking should be brought to a rolling boil for three minutes. Water is ok for bathing, washing, and other non-consumable uses."
A spokesperson for Missouri American Water said water service was restored to customers around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. But, they said residents will need to follow the guidelines until the advisory is lifted.
"This is the worst it's been, period. The water was extremely high, rushing, knocking over trash cans and bringing trash cans into my yard that were not my trash cans. It's pretty bad," a neighbor said.
Click here for more information about the break and precautionary boil water advisory.
Ritenour students will be dismissed in the following schedule:
- Ritenour High School, Husky Academy and ACE: 11 a.m.
- Middle Schools: 11:30 a.m.
- Ritenour School for Early Childhood: Noon (morning classes will dismiss as usual)
- Elementary Schools: Noon
- International Welcome Center: 12:30 p.m.
- RHS students who attend classes at STLCC-Flo Valley will be dismissed at 1:30 p.m. after they arrive back at RHS
Ritneour said all after-school activities and YCare have been canceled as well.
An early dismissal day on Thursday will still go on as planned due to staff development, according to the release.
Click here to find more information about Ritenour School District and their early dismissal times.