FAYETTEVILLE -- A water main break in a neighborhood on the northeast part of town prompted a need Tuesday for the entire city and neighboring communities to conserve water.
Crews worked overtime to fix the problem Tuesday. Service was restored to customers about 5 p.m. The city reached out directly to a small number of households who will need to boil water until bacterial samples can be taken.
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Residents and businesses should continue to conserve water today, according to a city news release.
A 36-inch water main burst about 6:30 p.m. Monday at Makeig Court and Warwick Drive in a neighborhood south of Paradise Valley Athletic Club. The break flooded neighborhood streets for several hours. Residents posted videos online showing what looked like river rapids running through the neighborhood.
Millions of gallons of water were lost from the break, said Tim Nyander, the city's utilities director. Six homes had water damage, he said.
Crews worked all night into Tuesday. They dug a hole in the pavement of the cul-de-sac to reach the leak in the 36-inch main and another leak in a 6-inch line next to it, Nyander said. By Tuesday afternoon, the flow of water had stopped, but water had to be sucked out of the hole to replace the pipes.
The ruptured pipe was isolated late Tuesday and continued to drain residual water inside. Final repairs should be completed today, and cleanup and restoration of the area will start after the area dries.
The city has a process to compensate residents for water damage from broken pipes, Nyander said. It was too early Tuesday to estimate the cost to fix water damage at homes, to replace the pipes, for the lost water and for overtime for workers, he said.
Nyander said he had seen nothing like it in his nine years working at the city.
"The is No. 1," he said. "We've had leaks on bigger lines, but not as big as this."
The city asked residents and businesses to conserve water. In a Tuesday morning news release, administrators said the city wouldn't be able to receive enough water from Beaver Water District to keep up with demand. Residents were asked to use water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene, but to avoid using water for irrigation or sprinkler systems for 24 hours.
The request applied to all water customers in the city and neighboring cities using Fayetteville's water system, including Elkins, West Fork, Farmington, Goshen, Greenland, southern Johnson, Wheeler, Round Mountain and the Mount Olive Water District.
Water was shut off for the neighborhood. Many other residents experienced low water pressure. City officials said it would take about 24 hours after repairs were finished for water tanks to refill and restore pressure. No citywide boil order was issued.
