Boil order lifted more than 2 days after Skokie, Illinois water main break
A boil order for Skokie was lifted Sunday night after residents were stuck boiling water or using bottles for two days — following a water main break that flooded several blocks.
Businesses and residents were elated that they could finally drink and use their water safely.
"Oh, I got the call first before I saw the email, and I just shouted 'Woo hoo!'" said Erica Mbangamoh, "and we started running the taps, and we were just ready for it to be over."
The Village of Skokie said testing confirmed that Skokie tap water now meets all Illinois Environmental Protection Agency water quality standards and is now safe to drink and use as normal. That means community members and businesses can now use tap water for drinking, cooking, hygiene, and other purposes without boiling it.
The village recommends that residents flush all their faucets with four steps:
- Remove faucet aerators.
- Begin in the lowest level of the home and run cold water.
- Let the water run for five minutes.
- Lastly, turn off each tap beginning at the highest level of the home.
Skokie officials said crews determined a fitting cap on a major water transmission main failed, causing the break. A replacement part was installed on Saturday evening.
Several blocks remained flooded more than 24 hours after the break. All the streets have since reopened except one — East Prairie Road between Church Street and Golf Road.
"In this little area, we've been without water since Thursday night. It was before the major break," said Mbangamoh. "So we are really excited to have it all clean and ready to go again."
For Stephanie Polo at The Boiler Shrimp & Crawfish, in Eastgate Plaza at 3445 Dempster St., the news came as a sigh of relief.
"Relieved. Relieved for the businesses, for the community, for all the staff here — for just basically all of Skokie and Evanston. I know that was part of Evanston also," said Polo.
After the water main broke Friday, a boil order was also issued for northwest Evanston, just east of the break site. The Evanston boil order was lifted Saturday afternoon.
For anyone whose home has been damaged, the Village of Skokie said it is prepared to submit all the paperwork from residents for federal disaster funds.
