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Major Water Main Fixed, Boil Water Advisory Lifted for Cape Girardeau Water Customers

A 14” cast iron water main broke on the morning of Mon. Dec. 9th in the 100-block of East Cape Rock Drive. Customers were told to expect lower water pressure shortly after the break and to boil and cool any water before drinking. On Tues. Dec. 10th, the boil water advisory was lifted after tests determined the water was free of contaminants.
City of Cape Girardeau
A 14” cast iron water main broke on the morning of Mon. Dec. 9th in the 100-block of East Cape Rock Drive. Customers were told to expect lower water pressure shortly after the break and to boil and cool any water before drinking. On Tues. Dec. 10th, the boil water advisory was lifted after tests determined the water was free of contaminants.

**This story was updated to include more information on 12/10/2024 at 6:18PM**

A precautionary boil water advisory for all City of Cape Girardeau water customers was lifted on the afternoon of Dec. 10 after test results confirmed that the water was safe and clean. The advisory, which had been issued on December 9th following a large water main break near the Cape Rock Water Plant, was lifted once the water samples were tested and found to be free of contaminants.

The City of Cape Girardeau informed residents late Tues. Dec. 10 the boil water advisory for water customers was lifted, after tests determined the safety of the drinking water.
City of Cape Girardeau
The City of Cape Girardeau informed residents late Tues. Dec. 10 the boil water advisory for water customers was lifted, after tests determined the safety of the drinking water.

The problem occurred after a 14” cast iron water main broke near the Cape Rock Water Plant.

Customers in the area near the main break and road closure on East Cape Rock Drive had no water on the morning of the 9th, but their service was restored later on that day.

**Original Story**

The alert was sent to customers on the morning of Monday, December 9th.

Customers city-wide were told to expect lower water pressure during this time, and to boil and cool any water before consuming. Pressure should now be stable, but the precautionary advisory remains in effect until test results come back on or before Dec. 11 at 6 p.m.

To receive the most current updates on the situation, you may register at cityofcape.org/getalerts. Guidelines for a boil water advisory can also be found on their website.

Unlike the October 2022 widespread outage incident, officials expect water to continue flowing to Cape customers throughout this advisory. Some customers may experience reddish brown water from water flow changing directions and scouring the cast iron pipes. Some may have milky white water from the pressure lowering and increasing causing air bubbles. Running the water a few extra minutes should resolve the issue.

“We know how disruptive these boil advisories can be for everyone at home, and also for our local businesses, schools, and medical facilities,” said Mayor Stacy Kinder. “We are very grateful for our outstanding team of staff and partners for repairing the main so quickly and working with our customers.”

Alliance Water Resources has isolated the break and is working on the repair.

Officials say the results from water testing should be available within 48 hours. Registered affected addresses received text or other notifications.

In a conversation with JJ Ridings, the local manager of Alliance Water Resources, he explained that this water main is nearly a century old. "That main was put in whenever that water plant was built, which is also 1931, so it's original to the plant.”

“It requires a lot of funding,” he said. “There's almost $100 million of projects identified, and most of that is main replacement. And we don't have the funding for it.”

Nicolette Brennon, Cape Girardeau's Public Information Manager, also acknowledged the challenge, saying, "That's certainly a significant issue in our community right now, 'cause we do have some old infrastructure."

Ridings also discussed the fact that until the water distribution system gets upgrades, this is the way that things are going to be, saying, "Not very uplifting, but it's just going to continue to happen until our infrastructure is updated and upgraded. That's just going to be a part of life until that happens,"

Just last month, during the November 2024 General Election, a ballot item that would have addressed major funding needed to upgrade the plant and improve infrastructure failed by 55.9 percent or 8,904 votes.

The ballot item would have amended the Code of Ordinances of the City of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to establish new water rates and fees effective January 1, 2025, resulting, based on current usage, in an increase in the current fiscal year ranging between $8.19 and $13.89 per month for 89% of water customers.

Alex Barton joined the staff of KRCU Public Radio in July 2024. Alex, from St. Louis, Missouri, is pursuing a degree in Multimedia Journalism with a minor in Integrated Marketing Communications at Southeast Missouri State University. He has written stories for the Southeast Arrow and worked on various freelance voice-acting projects.