by Abigail Margulis, originally posted on January 10, 2017

The City of Asheville Water Resources Department estimates that a South Asheville water line break could be repaired by 4 p.m. Tuesday.

The department reported an emergency water interruption on Buck Shoals Road, Sweeten Creek Road, Lower Christ School Road and in the surrounding areas Tuesday morning.

As a result, some customers were experiencing little or no water pressure.

Citizens were asked to boil water before drinking it for at least 1 minute, according to a city news release.

Employees with the Water Resources Department were performing laboratory tests following the break to check for any contamination. The boil water advisory will be lifted when tests confirm that there is no chance of water contamination, a news release states.

Lab results take 24 hours to complete, according to Water Resources Director Jade Dundas.

But checking for contamination is just a precautionary measure, he said.

Crews responded to the break around 1 a.m. Tuesday.

No official cause had been determined for what caused the break but Dundas said it could have possibly been due to air build up in the pipes.

“The pipes have been in the ground a long time,” he said. “Different breaks happen around the city and you can attribute it to different things.”

Once the water advisory is lifted it will be posted on the City’s Water Outage notifications webpage.

City staff said when water pressure returns there is a possibility that some discolored water or air could be present in the lines.

Customers are advised to run cold water for 5-10 minutes or until water is clear.