51ºÚÁÏ

ST. CHARLES COUNTY — St. Peters officials on Friday night announced that repairs on a water pipeline serving their city and St. Charles had been completed.

But a boil water advisory remained in effect in both cities while the repaired water main is flushed. A St. Peters news release said the advisory will remain in effect until an independent lab completes testing.

Both St. Peters and St. Charles lifted water conservation orders on Friday night, officials said.

Earlier article:

ST. CHARLES — St. Charles issued a mandatory water conservation order Friday morning, barring residents and businesses from watering lawns, filling swimming pools, washing cars and other non-essential uses.

St. Peters is urging people to do the same, but hasn’t issued a mandatory order, as of late morning Friday.

Both cities issued boil advisories after a water interconnection pipeline co-owned by the cities of St. Charles and St. Peters was struck and damaged by a private contractor Thursday, causing the major loss of pressure. The contractor has not been named.

A loss of pressure can potentially allow contaminants to enter the water supply.

“Your cooperation is vital,� said St. Charles officials, in a Friday press release. “If water conservation is not followed, residents and businesses may experience significantly reduced water pressure and flow until the water main is repaired and brought back into service.�

Crews from both cities and an emergency contractor had mobilized to start repairing the damaged pipeline, the release added.

In the meantime, St. Charles and St. Peters officials said that “all water used for consumption� should be boiled for at least three minutes, including water used for washing dishes, preparing food or brushing teeth. But such a precaution is not necessary for uses like showering or washing clothes.

Officials also provided an updated timeline Friday morning for the expected pace of repairs, saying that significant progress was made overnight and the physical repair work is expected to be complete by 8 p.m.

After those repairs are finished, crews will then begin the “multi-hour process of flushing the repaired water main.� St. Charles anticipates lifting its water conservation order Saturday, while samples are collected to examine water quality.

Then on Sunday — or about 24 hours after that sample collection — the city expects to have test results that will determine whether the boil advisory can be lifted.

Mark Schlinkmann of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report