RESERVE — A ruptured water transmission line is to blame, parish officials said, for downed water in parts of St. John the Baptist Parish which left customers under a Boil Water Advisory as of press time Tuesday morning.

“The main water transmission line at Lyons Plant ruptured,” St. John Communications Officer Baileigh Rebowe Helm said. “The line has been repaired and water was restored to Water District No. 1 in the early morning hours of (Tuesday) before anticipated restore time.”

Water District No. 1 serves Reserve, Garyville and Mt. Airy residents.

“The plant is maintaining pressure, and they do not foresee any additional problems with this repair,” Rebowe Helm said. “The parish does not anticipate this being an issue at this time.”

According to parish officials, the Utilities Department and Sealevel Construction made necessary repairs to the leak in “an efficient manner overnight, when water consumption is at a minimum.”

Utilities Department personnel remains committed to improving contingency plans for future widespread water outages, Rebowe Helm said.

Water has been restored, but as a precaution, water customers in impacted area are under a Boil Water Advisory until further notice, parish officials reported Tuesday morning.

It is recommended all consumers disinfect their water before consuming it, brushing teeth or using it for food preparation by boiling water for one full minute in a clean container.

The one-minute effort starts after the water has been brought to a rolling boil.

The Utilities Department will lift the Boil Water Advisory upon notification from the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals-Office of Public Health that the water samples collected from Water District No. 1 is safe.

For more information and updates regarding the water outage, visit sjbparish.com.

— By Raquel Derganz Baker