Boil order lifted for parts of Auburn Gresham, Beverly, Morgan Park

The city lifted its boil order Thursday after telling 20,000 water customers on the Southwest Side to avoid drinking straight from the tap until tests showed no dangerous levels of bacteria.

The Chicago Department of Water Management said tests showed tap water in Auburn Gresham, Beverly and Morgan Park is safe to drink, though residents should flush their water systems before drinking it.

The order was issued after a malfunction caused a leak in a high-pressure water main at the Roseland Pumping Station on Tuesday night.

Residents were told to boil their water before drinking it or using it to wash dishes or food.

Though the boil order has been rescinded, the department advises affected residents to:

• Run all cold-water faucets for five minutes.
• Continuously run drinking fountains for five minutes.
• Make and disregard three batches of ice from automatic icemakers.
• Drain and refill hot water tanks.
• If you have a water softener, run water through a regeneration cycle.
• If you have a point-of-use or inline water filters, sediment and/or Reverse Osmosis systems perform the recommended filter change or back-wash in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications.
• Drain reservoirs in large buildings that have water-holding reservoirs.
• Run coolers with direct water connections for five minutes.
• Restart and flush any water-using fixture in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications.

Anyone with questions can contact the city's Water Quality Surveillance Section at 312-744-8190 or 311.