“Please do drink the water” — and without boiling — was the message Sunday afternoon from Town of Fort Mill Public Works Director David Broom, who had advised some residents to boil their water until further notice after a water main broke at lunchtime Friday.Broom repealed the water boil advisory after laboratory test results on the water were returned late Sunday afternoon.
“I was very relieved,” he said.
The main break occurred at the intersection of Grier and Skipper streets where a 2-inch and a 6-inch water line joined. Town officials had to flush hydrants to lower the water pressure so the break could be repaired.
When water pressure dips to a certain point, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control requires that the water system be flushed and then tested to make sure there’s no bacteria in it, Broom explained.
“We never really thought water pressure got low enough to require boiling the water,” said Town Manager David Hudspeth, “but we wanted to take any suggestions that DHEC suggested.”
The broken main was repaired at about 9 p.m. Friday evening, too late to get the water to a laboratory for testing. City workers sent water to the lab Saturday morning, but it took a full day to get the results.
Residents between the intersections of U.S. 21 and U.S. 160 and Tom Hall Road and Springfield Parkway, plus residents in the Sutton Road area who get water from the Riverview water system, were asked to boil their water before drinking until lab results were returned.
“It was unfortunate it happened on a weekend like this,” Broom said.
The main that broke was about 80 years old, he added.
“Back then, they used that cast iron pipe, and it’s very sturdy,” Broom said. “They are pretty good water lines. You may have a break like this every few years. It’s not a common occurrence.”