The city of Hillsboro is under a boil water advisory today, Nov. 1, following a water main break.
City Administrator Jesse Wallis said the break occurred at about 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 31, when a contractor was using a boring machine to install fiber optic cable near the intersection of Business 21 and Ridgewood Drive.
“The contractor bored right into a pipe,” he said. “It was right there on 21 in the right of way, and they veered off or something and went right into the pipe.”
Wallis said water service was shut off until about 4 p.m. Monday.
The water advisory will remain in effect until the city receives two negative tests for contamination from the Health Department.
Wallis said the first sample was sent this morning, and a second sample will be sent for testing Wednesday morning, Nov. 2.
Until the advisory is lifted, residents and businesses in the city should boil water for at least three minutes before consuming it, and dishes and other food contact surfaces should be immersed for at least one minute in clean tap water that contains a teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water, according to the city’s website, hillboromo.org.
Water may be used for handwashing or bathing without boiling it, the city said on the website.
Walls said bottled water is being distributed at Hillsboro Fire Protection District’s House 1 at 120 Fifth St.
For more information, go to the city’s website or the Missouri Department of Natural Resources website, dnr.mo.gov.