The 160,000 or so water customers who rely on Rend Lake for water can turn their taps on and flush their toilets again, as repairs to the Rend Lake Intercity Water Plant were completed early Friday morning.
Larry Sanders, general counsel and assistant general manager of the Rend Lake Conservancy District, said the main line repair was completed around 8:30 a.m., and the lake intake and treatment plant have been returned to service. The 36-inch pipe ruptured on Wednesday, causing massive disruption to residents, businesses and institutions in southern Illinois. Schools and hotels were evacuated, and medical offices shortened their hours.
Despite the repairs being completed, customers of Intercity Water are asked to continue water conservation practices until the system is returned to full capacity, and a boil order will be in effect through most of the weekend. The system is expected to reach full capacity at about the same time that the water test results are received from the lab on Sunday.
Meanwhile, all water users will remain under a boil order, until Intercity Water receives test results showing that the water is safe to drink.
"Samples will be drawn on Saturday with test results expected to return on Sunday after 2 p.m.," Sanders said. Sanders said because of the complete shut down and the emptying of pipes and tanks, the sediment will be disturbed, bringing the possibility of air, floating copper and lead in the water lines.
He said customers should remove aerators from faucets or use faucets with no aerators, like tubs, to flush the lines. Let the water run for a couple of minutes before collecting water to be boiled and then cooled for consumption, said Sanders.
To get water flowing again, Sanders said crews worked on two solutions simultaneously. They installed a bypass to get a minimum of water flowing to allow communities to care for the health and welfare of at-risk populations, while also working to replace the broken pipe.
The bypass project was completed around 2 a.m. and the plant energized one pump around 3 a.m. to allow the flow of treated water through the system. Shortly after that, water began to be drawn from Rend Lake to begin the treatment process.
