Boil Order Issued After Water Mains Break

A boil order was issued Tuesday evening for portions of the Bridgeport neighborhood after several water mains cracked under pressure.

The order encompasses the following areas:

South Halsted Street from West 35th Street to West 36th Street
West 35th Place from South Halsted Street to South Lithuanica Avenue
West 36th Street from South Morgan Street to South Lithuanica Avenue
South Sangamon Street from West 35th Place to West 37th Street

The boil order means any water that will be consumed (by humans or pets) must be brought to a rolling boil for at least five minutes before being ingested.

Water Dept. Spokesman Tom LaPorte said the boil order is precautionary, and will not be lifted until authorities are able to test the water Wednesday morning.

It comes after the driver of a tractor trailer trying to make a turn onto West 35th Street sheared off a fire hydrant and caused four water mains to break earlier in the afternoon.

The water mains broke from the 3600 to the 3800 blocks of South Halsted Street to Emerald Avenue, said Fire Media Affairs spokesman Quention Curtis.

The impact caused a water hammer, a sudden pressure surge caused when water is forced to stop or change motion. This caused four water mains to snap and break, Curtis said.

Flooding has been reported on the streets and some basements filled with more than five feet of water.

Nino Abraham was at a nearby gym when he said every faucet went dry.

"I came to park in the parking lot and I see nothing but a flood of water in the parking lot and so I can't even park in there.  I go in the gym, finished my work out and was getting ready to hop in the shower and the water is shut off," he said.  

People's Gas, an electric company responded.  Crews were digging up the sidewalk to repair the cracked water system.

The driver of the truck was cited for damage to public property, said police News Affairs Officer Anne Dwyer.