Nine households near 809 Berkley in Elmhurst must boil their tap water or use bottled water after a water main break forced the city to shut down the line and issue a precautionary boil order.
City of Elmhurst utility staff responded to a confirmed water main break at 809 Berkley on Wednesday, Oct. 14, according to the city's precautionary boil orders page. The shutdown triggered the boil order the same day. All nine affected residents were notified in person or received a red notice on their door, the city said.
The order remained in effect as of Friday, Oct. 16.
Affected households should bring tap water to a rolling boil for five minutes before using it for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth or washing fruits and vegetables. The city said residents should, if possible, avoid using unboiled tap water from the faucet for those purposes and use bottled water instead.
When water system pressure drops below 20 PSI during a main shutdown, organisms from outside the pipe can infiltrate the system, according to the city. That includes the possibility of fecal coliform or E. coli bacteria.
The boil order is a precaution while the city collects water samples and delivers them to a laboratory for testing. The order will stay in place until results confirm the water is free of coliform bacteria. Once testing clears, affected residents will receive a green letter from the city stating the order has been lifted.
The city has not announced a timeline for when lab results are expected.
