Illinois city of Rock Falls remains without water

ROCK FALLS - The northern Illinois city of Rock Falls remains without water.

Rock Falls lost water service Thursday afternoon because of what authorities said was a "sanitation infrastructure failure." The community of 9,000 residents remained without water service Friday morning.

The (Sterling) Daily Gazette reports authorities hope to resume water service later Friday.

Mayor Bill Wescott said crews were working to remove raw sewage after a pump stopped working at the city's sewage facility.

The community set up an emergency operations center at Rock Falls City Hall to distribute water to residents. The city was asking residents not to flush toilets and even those with private wells were asked not to use their water.

The Whiteside County Health Department on Thursday ordered all schools, businesses, restaurants and bars to temporarily close.