SKOKIE (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - The cause of a massive water main break in Skokie has now been released. A boil water order was lifted on Sunday after being in effect for three days.
Skokie officials said the boil order was lifted after thorough testing confirmed that the tap water met all Illinois EPA water quality standards and is safe to drink and use as normal without any additional precautions, but they add people should flush all of their faucets and let the water run for 5 minutes before using it.
The boil water order applied to all Skokie water customers (zip codes 60076, 6007 and 60203).
Officials on Monday said the water main break was cause by the failure of a fitting cap installed in the 1960s. The caps usually last 80 to 100 years.
An investigation will continue to determine why the cap failed.
All weekend, bottled water has been distributed throughout Skokie, with the village estimating as of late Saturday that 25,000 bottles of water were passed out at public distribution events or delivered to homebound and vulnerable residents and care facilities.
The issues began early Friday morning when residents spotted a water leak on East Prairie Road and Emerson Street. It was discovered that a transmission water main was broken, caused, the village said, by the failure of a fitting cap. At this point, the village believes the fitting cap failure was not caused by construction in the area.
The village said the repair work is ongoing, with crews completing pipe replacement and isolating the impacted portion of the water system.
The break resulted in massive flooding on Friday, damaging many parked cars, property and homes.
The Village of Skokie is asking any residents who suffered damage to submit an email to riskmgmt@skokie.org, listing your contact information, description and monetary estimate of the damages and attaching any related photos. They also suggest contact residents contact their insurance provider.
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