A water main break in Skokie forced the closures of numerous schools, shut down area roadways and left many without water supply on Friday.
Both Skokie and Evanston issued boil orders to residents due to the "significant" break, which began at East Prairie Road and Emerson Street.
Photos from the area showed entire streets flooded, with vehicles on roads partially submerged in some spots.
While it remains unclear what caused the water main break, village authorities said it could have been related to recent stormwater or flooding -- and not connected to the water system.
A boil order was issued as a precaution, but it wasn't clear how long it would last.
Skokie officials said the boil order "will remain in effect until laboratory sampling confirms water quality has been fully restored."
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Meanwhile in Evanston, residents were warned that "the Village of Skokie has not established a specific timeline for completing repairs related to the recent water main break."
"The Village of Skokie and City of Evanston crews are actively working to address the issue and restore water service to affected areas," an alert to residents stated.
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Skokie officials said Friday afternoon they had made "significant progress" in restoring water pressure to the village but were "dealing with very difficult conditions, including frozen ground and very cold water and lots of it." They expect water pressure will be restored later Friday evening.
