Boil order in effect for some downtown Belleville businesses after water main break

A water main that burst beneath Illinois Street in downtown Belleville Tuesday has been repaired but five businesses remained under a boil order Thursday afternoon.

Illinois American Water spokeswoman Karen Cotton said the YMCA, Mariachi’s Mexican Restaurant, Hospice of Southern Illinois, Tribout’s Carnival Supply and the News-Democrat were affected by the boil order.

Only Hospice of Southern Illinois’ office was closed due to the order. The YMCA, which was forced to close early Tuesday evening because the building lost water pressure, was open Wednesday as employees placed large red coolers filled with fresh drinking water throughout the building.

Cotton said repair workers were able to quickly isolate the break in the water main, making necessary repairs and limiting the scope of the boil order to just the five businesses. She said the boil order could last as long as 36 hours but the company hoped to lift the order sooner.

The break occurred around 5 p.m. Tuesday and forced the closure of the northbound lane of Illinois Street. Water was visible gushing out of a mulched landscape bed on YMCA grounds and from cracks in the street. After crews broke a hole into the road and pumped out the water that collected in it, they capped the break shortly before 8:30 p.m.

This story was originally published July 22, 2015 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Boil order in effect for some downtown Belleville businesses after water main break."