Jackson restaurants scramble to accommodate water advisory

A boil water advisory issued Monday afternoon for a large swath of Jackson remains in effect, and area restaurants have been responding accordingly to the inconvenience.

The advisory encompasses most of the east side of Jackson, including a bustling commercial area along East Jackson Boulevard. While people are recommended to boil their water for drinking, restaurants were scrambling to adjust to the advisory, as fountain drinks require tap water.

Michael Dixon, manager of Dexter Bar-B-Que at 1903 E. Jackson Blvd., said Tuesday morning was "crazy" as he and staffers worked to deal with the situation.

"Basically, we emptied all of our machines and bought bags of ice from Save-A-Lot," he said. The restaurant also bought bottled drinks for customers.

Dakota Shure, manager of Wings Etc. at 2003 E. Jackson Blvd., went through similar motions Tuesday.

"We're following the guidelines the city gave us and just going with that," he said.

A manager at Delmonico's Steakhouse at 2951 Old Orchard Road said he hadn't heard anything about the advisory by about 10:30 a.m., but most people interviewed Tuesday became aware via news reports or alerts from the city.

Merideth Pobst, director of communications at the Jackson School District, said East Elementary also is included in the affected area.

The school provided bottled drinking water and covered water fountains as a reminder to younger students, she said, and the school's vegetables were washed at another building.

Most parents already were aware of the advisory, but the district also notifies parents in case they missed it, Pobst said.

The affected area originally encompassed everything east of Shawnee Boulevard and Greensferry Road from north of Clark Street and north of Brookside Park and the Meadows at Oak Creek. On Tuesday morning, however, the city announced the Meadows at Oak Creek and Cambridge Estates had been removed from the caution area.

Monday's advisory was issued after a subcontractor erecting a bridge piling along Old Orchard Road struck a submerged water main, damaging it slightly, city engineer Erica Bogenpohl said.

The piling penetrated the concrete surrounding the pipe's steel casing.

Although the pipe has been repaired, the advisory will remain in place until noon today, when test results on water samples are expected.

"There is the possibility that there was some contaminant in that water," Bogenpohl said, although she doubted it would be anything serious.

"We do not foresee the samples coming back positive," she said.

If they do, the most likely culprit would be E. coli bacteria., which could cause diarrhea or other intestinal issues if ingested. In that case, a mandatory boil water order would be issued for affected areas. After the main was repaired and tests performed, the pipe was flushed and additional chlorine added to eliminate possible contaminants.

The contractor working on the bridge contract is Lappe Cement Finishing Inc. of Perryville, Missouri, and the subcontractor erecting the piling Monday was Girardeau Stevedores of Scott City, said Lappe office manager Melissa Hayden.

"It's the old water line that they hit, which is still in service until we get the new one put in," Hayden said.

Although Bogenpohl said discussions are ongoing about the subcontractor's work, "it looks like it was just an oversight," as the company should have been aware of a water main in the construction zone.

"It was nobody's fault," Hayden said, and Lappe has no plans of taking Girardeau Stevedores off the project.

ljones@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3652

Pertinent address: Jackson, Mo.