CITY TOLD TO BOIL WATER; TWO PUMPS BREAK AT WATER PLANT

Restricted use and boil water orders issued Friday by the city of Cape Girardeau had residents rushing to supermarkets for Evian and sodas.

Schnucks, Shop-n-Save and Food Giant all reported a run on distilled water and soft drinks. Much of the stock went to restaurants, which were unable to serve sodas from dispensers, iced tea or coffee.

"When you have a soda machine, you use syrup, carbonation and fresh water," Paul Kesterson, manager of the Subway on Broadway, said Friday afternoon. "We've been serving tea and lemonade already made and we're looking for bottled water."

Art Knepp, manager of BG's Olde Tyme Deli, said many in Friday's lunch crowd hadn't heard about the order, issued at about 10:30 a.m. A lot of them were dismayed that they had been drinking water all morning.

Water problems arose when an intake pump drawing from the Mississippi River broke Thursday and another Friday. A third pump had broken some time ago and repairs on it couldn't begin until the water level at the pump station dropped to a suitable level.

This spring's flood is what caused the problems, according to Tom Taggart, utility manager for Alliance Water Resources, the company that manages city's water. The high sand content of floodwaters caused some of the pumps' mechanical components to wear out prematurely.

When the pumps wore out, the water pressure dropped below 20 pounds per square inch. State regulations say a boil water order must be issued when the pressure drops that low in case of back siphonage.

Back siphonage is when water with dangerous bacteria is sucked back into the system through hoses or other means.

Taggart said he expected to have two permanent pumps installed by late Friday night, but residents shouldn't stop boiling their water until they hear from a media source that the order has been lifted. Water used for drinking or food preparation should be at a hard boil for at least five minutes.

In addition, Cape residents should avoid using water unnecessarily. They shouldn't wash their cars, water their lawns or fill swimming pools.