Boil order lifted in additional parts of St. Clair County

The boil order placed over St. Clair County for the later part of the week has been lifted from four more water districts.

Millstadt, Concordia Water District, Caseyville and Commonfields of Cahokia Public Water District were no longer under the boil order as of Saturday afternoon.

As of Sunday morning, Scott Air Force Base, O’Fallon and Fairview Heights were the only areas still affected by the boil order issued by Illinois American Water.

The Kaskaskia Water District, which services New Athens, Lenzburg, Marisa, Tilden and the Washington County Water District, also has been under a boil order since early Friday morning. The boil order is expected to remain in effect throughout the weekend, until samples can be tested once labs reopen Monday.

The earliest the boil order could be lifted from O’Fallon and Fairview Heights is 5 p.m. Sunday. Scott Air Force Base projected the boil order would remain in effect through the weekend.

The communities still under the Illinois American Water boil order buy water in bulk from Illinois American Water and manage their own distribution systems. Those communities are in charge of notifying customers of the boil order status.

Karen Cotton, spokeswoman for Illinois American Water, said in a news release that water was once again meeting federal standards everywhere where the boil order was lifted. However, the company was still asking people to conserve water while employees battle the frigid temperatures impacting the local water systems.

“We simply ask customers to use no more than they need and to use water wisely. If they need to wash their clothes or dishes, they should wait until they have a full load. We thank them for their cooperation as this effort will help ensure we can continue to meet critical demand to homes, businesses and for fire protection,” Karen Cooper, senior manager of field operations and production, said in the release.

The boil order was issued Wednesday after frigid temperatures broke numerous water mains in St. Clair County. Saturday marked the 13th day of below-freezing temperatures throughout the area, according to the National Weather Service. Above-freezing temperatures are expected Sunday.

This story was originally published January 6, 2018 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Boil order lifted in additional parts of St. Clair County."