UPDATE: Moberly water main break temporarily repaired, city under boil order
UPDATE 7pm: The day started with no water for many people in Moberly this morning.
The director of Moberly Public Utilities told us a main line very close to the water tower broke around midnight. Due to the fact that it is so close to the water tower, it affected the whole town’s water service.
It’s a big concern for the fire department in the event of a fire. The fire chief says they do have several thousand gallons of water on hand.
It was also a difficult day for folks at Moberly Regional Medical Center and for local business.
Jaime Morgan of Moberly Regional Medical Center told us, “we are using bottled water to cook with, and providing bottled water to employees, family members and patients, and we’re able to use sanitizer after hands are washed.”
Todd Lewis, the owner of Black Market Barbeque said that he had to, “shut down our soda machines, which we figured that. Shut down our ice machine and both of them have filters in them, so we will have to clean them once the boil orders over with, so we shut all that down.”
The water main has temporarily been repaired, but the city still says to continue conserving water and to boil water for five minutes and let it cool for another twenty minutes before drinking use.
UPDATE 4 pm: Calcagno reported the leak has temporarily been repaired.
The city is currently under a boil order for at least the next 48 hours. Officials said they hope to have the order lifted by Friday evening.
The break caused damage to the pavement on Sturgeon Street, no other damages were reported.
Calcagno said the city is over budget for the water main breaks due to the harsh winter.
Moberly School District officials said they have purchased and distributed an ample supply of bottled water for the staff and students.
School officials also said the ice makers have been shut down and drinking fountains have been blocked off.
The school staff will boil all water necessary for cooking.
UPDATE 10:30 am: Calcagno said the city will be under a boil advisory for at least 48 hours after the repairs.
Calcagno also said the water line that broke has been in the ground for decades and was positioned close to the water main tower, “All systems experience leaks, unfortunately this one happened at a very bad place.”
George Albert, chief for the Moberly Fire Department, said crews should have enough water to do an initial attack on a structure fire. In case they do run out of water, they have additional resources on standby.
Another update is scheduled for 4 p.m.
UPDATE 9 a.m.: Mary West-Calcagno, the director of public utilities for Moberly, said the entire city of Moberly is under a boil water advisory for at least 24 hours or more, depending on when the water main break is fixed.
West-Calcagno said her and her staff will hold a phone conference with local healthcare facilities to find out how their needs can be met. She said water pressure is rebuilding and they hope to have full water pressure by the end of the day Wednesday.
West-Calcagno said a press conference will be held about the issue at 10 a.m. at Moberly City Hall.
UPDATE 7 a.m.: A Moberly City employee told ABC 17 News a water main break occurred on S. Sturgeon Street around midnight Wednesday morning.
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The employee said most of the city is affected by the break.
This article will be updated throughout the day with the latest details.
ORIGINAL: Moberly police said an early morning water main break could potentially affect the entire city.
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Moberly Public Schools, Moberly Head Start and St. Pius X School have reported closures for Wednesday as crews work to mitigate the break.
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ABC 17 News has crews on the way to gather more information.
This article will be updated throughout the day with the latest details.
To watch the live press conference, click here.
