Boil order issued for most of city

PEA RIDGE — Water customers are under a boil order issued Tuesday for most of Pea Ridge north of (and including) Big Sugar Golf Course and east of It’ll Do Road.

“It’s a precautionary boil order,” Water Department superintendent Ken Hayes said, following a water line break on the north side of town Tuesday morning.

The four-inch line was punctured when a Southwestern Electric Power Company employee drilled into it when driving an anchor for a new utility pole as part of the utility relocation during the remodel work at Pea Ridge Intermediate School.

Numerous water customers, including City Hall, were without water Tuesday morning.

Water gushed from the hole behind the maintenance building off Pike Street north of downtown.

“This line keeps everything charged,” Hayes said, explaining that the line loops from an eight-inch line providing water pressure.

Any water used for drinking or cooking must be boiled, according to Hayes, who said a water sample will be pulled Wednesday and Thursday, and he hopes the boil order will be lifted Thursday.

“Better safe than sorry,” Hayes said, saying the boil order was just precautionary.

More than 40 water customers had called the Water Department office by noon Tuesday to complain about either a lack of water or a lack of water pressure. Hayes said he hoped to have the water running full force again by midafternoon.

For more information about the boil order, call the Water Department office at 451-1109 or 451-1103, follow The Times on Twitter, or check our web site at nwaonline.com and click on weeklies, The Times.