Newton residents advised to boil their water Thursday

Newton residents should continue to boil water they want to use out of their taps on Thursday.

The city completed repairs on Wednesday afternoon to a broken 12-inch primary trunk water main on Northwest Drive. The break early Wednesday forced the city to cut off service to all 6,500 water customers.

Repairs were completed around 1 p.m. Wednesday, and water pressure was slowly raised throughout the system, officials said.

Residents should continue to boil their water, however. Any time a water system experiences low or no pressure, the potential increases for “back siphonage” and the introduction of bacteria into the water supply, city officials said.

Boil any water you want to drink or use to make ice, brush your teeth, wash dishes and prepare food.

“Vigorous boiling for one minute should kill any disease-causing organisms that may be present in the water,” the city said on its Twitter account.

Testing of the water to make sure it’s safe should be completed by 5 p.m. Thursday, officials said. The city said it will announce whether the advisory is lifted when test results are returned.

Officials also advised that it takes about 24 hours for pressure to build to normal levels throughout the water system. Until full pressure is restored, some water customers could experience weak water pressure.

Customers could also experience air in their water lines and discolored water. Allowing the water to run for several minutes should flush out any air or discoloration, officials said.

During Wednesday’s outage, Honey’s IGA Newton donated eight pallets of bottled water to local senior communities and the Catawba County Jail. Volunteers with the American Red Cross, Catawba County Emergency Services and the Newton Fire Department made the deliveries.

This story was originally published January 28, 2016 at 5:59 AM with the headline "Newton residents advised to boil their water Thursday."