City of Cape Girardeau running two rounds of tests on water

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) - Cape Girardeau city water customers are still under a boil advisory following the severe water main break Monday night.

Long lines were seen at the Osage Center, where those affected by the boil advisory picked up bottled water. Cape Girardeau’s Public Works Director Stan Polivick, said they’re looking at Friday afternoon to be able to lift that advisory.

In the meantime, they’ll spend the next few days running tests.

“To confirm that the water in the system doesn’t have any contaminants or bacteria with it,” Polivick said.

They’re pulling 20 samples from 20 different locations around town.

“To be representative of the entire system, so they’re scattered everywhere,” Polivick said.

Once they’re collected, they will be sent to a local lab. Those test results come back in about twenty-four hours.

To ensure the water is safe, they don’t just rely on one day of testing.

“Then that has to be repeated again tomorrow,” Polivick said. “There has to be two sets of samples confirmed that everything is in good order before we can lift the boil water advisory.”

The tests they take Thursday are expected to come back on Friday afternoon.

“Provided all those test results are acceptable, then we would be advised by the Department of Natural Resources that we could lift the boil advisory,” Polivick said.

The city is also taking other measures to make sure any contaminated water is out of the system.

“Flushing the system in areas as well, to try and force air out of the system, as well as get the water that was left in there yesterday, get that out so that the newly treated water can get in,” Polivick said.

According to Polivick, a water main break is never a good thing, but this one was a little worse than normal.

He said the city appreciates the patience from the community as they work to get it fixed.

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