Residents of northwest Denver were allowed to drink the water from their taps late Friday afternoon, after a mandatory boil-water order was lifted following a water-line break.
The advisory, which affected residents and businesses between West 10th Avenue and West 24th Avenue and Federal Boulevard and Tennyson Street, was lifted just after 5 p.m.
Water to the area was disrupted about 10:30 a.m. Thursday when a FasTracks contractor working near West 12th Avenue and Knox Court ruptured a 30-inch water main.
Denver Water on Thursday went door-to-door in the neighborhoods advising people to boil their water. Bottled water was also made available to residents in the area.
Those who weren’t home received a notice on their doors. A reverse emergency call with a bilingual message also was phoned into the area.
Denver Water spokeswoman Stacy Chesney said the FasTracks contractor repaired the water main Thursday night, and the main had been disinfected. It was flushed Friday, she said.
Water pressure was expected to remain lower than normal into today but should return to normal over the weekend, Chesney said in a release. Residents were advised to run their water in every faucet for three to five minutes before using water that came out.
Chesney said the boil-water advisory was issued as a precautionary measure as required by the state when water pressure dropped below a certain level.
Water-main breaks resulting in a loss of pressure can introduce disease-causing organisms into the water system. People with severely compromised immune systems, infants and some elderly can be at risk.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
