Boil order in effect for some Fox Lake residents

An early morning hit-and-run accident that sheered off a fire hydrant resulted to water draining from Fox Lake's Tall Oaks water plant and service being cut off to nearly 2,500 residents for about eight hours.

The accident also forced village officials to issue a boil order for residents in about 12 subdivisions while repairs were made and water was tested. The boil order is expected to remain in place until at least today.

The trouble began when an unknown driver struck a fire hydrant near Country Club Hills Drive about 4 a.m. and caused a water main to snap underground, Village Administrator Nancy Schuerr said.

When the pipe burst, the water system compensated for the water loss by increasing flows, Schuerr said, and caused an emergency reserve water tank to empty. Officials were alerted to the water main break, shut down the system and repaired the pipe.

Officials don't yet know how many gallons of water were lost.

"It was quite a mess for awhile there," she said. "But, the pipe has been fixed, the main and reserve tank have been refilled, and the system is up and running."

Because of the system shutdown, the village had to issue a mandatory boil order to test the water to ensure it is safe. Officials said all area residents were notified by 5 a.m.

"Right now, we don't anticipate any problems with the test," she said. "But, until the test comes back clear, we will keep the boil order in place."

The Tall Oaks plant on Grass Lake Road is the newest water system in Fox Lake, and serves about 12 subdivisions on the village's north side. Affected subdivisions were Leisure Village, Vacation Village, Reva Bay, Brightwater, Hickory Cove, East Shore Estates, Country Club Hills, as well as the Fox Lake Country Club and Lotus School.

Schuerr said police are investigating the hit-and-run accident, and have found the car that was involved, but were looking for the driver.