News alert: Route 3 in Belmont under voluntary boil water order

BELMONT — Businesses and residents along the Route 3 corridor are under a voluntary boil water order after a water main break in Laconia on Wednesday. Town leaders said everyone else in town can use water as normal.

The state Department of Environmental Services "advised us to issue a voluntary boil water order on the Route 3 branch,” said Belmont Public Works Director Brian Jackes on Thursday. “This is simply due to the system outage.”

The City of Laconia, however, is not under any sort of boil water order, according to Water Superintendent Ben Crawford.

Mayor Mike Bordes said he had been in touch with the water department after hearing from concerned city residents, as there was misinformation going around the internet that the city was also under a boil order.

"They did water testing and will get the results tomorrow, but definitely do not have a boil water order in place," Bordes said.

Belmont made the voluntary order, because their entire system lost pressure and water supply.

Jackes explained the Belmont boil order only applies to the Route 3 corridor, down to where Shooter’s Tavern is, and not the entire town. He noted the majority of those affected are businesses, as the area does not have many residents.

The notice is directly related to the water main break and duration service was interrupted. He said a voluntary boil order was recommended by NHDES, and out of an abundance of caution, it was issued.

The town works with Pennichuck Water, which sends samples to a laboratory for testing for harmful bacteria. Jackes said results should come back within 24 hours, and he expects the ban to be lifted by Friday.

The Laconia Water Department became aware tank levels were lowered around midnight on Wednesday, and around 4 a.m., a break on Court Street became visible, according to Crawford. Crews dug into the road and worked to identify the issue throughout the day, ultimately finding multiple breaks, and making the repairs to restore service.

Crawford said the city did not issue a boil order after the break, as no harmful bacteria was suspected to be in the system. Samples have still been sent in for testing, and the water department will update with results to confirm.

“Water service was restored at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 4, following significant flushing to remove any air or sediment that may have been in the pipes,” Crawford stated in a press release.

In the case there is any discoloration or sediment showing, Crawford recommends turning cold water on until any air or discoloration dissipates. He said this is the same that is done when the city flushes its hydrants.

“Bathtubs and faucets are a good way to do it until any discoloration clears up,” Crawford said.