***UPDATE***

Mayor Rodney Grogan issued a statement at 12:37 p.m. Tuesday that the boil-water notice for Patterson has been lifted. Testing of water samples revealed no contaminants and adequate disinfectants in the system.

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A boil order is in effect in the City of Patterson after a major water line break Monday that shut down the city’s water tower for about an hour.

As a precautionary measure, the state’s Department of Health & Hospitals required that customers be notified that before drinking their water, they must boil it to be sure it is safe for human consumption, city officials said.

Patterson administrators said this morning that they expect the order, which affects all customers of the city’s water system, to be lifted this afternoon when results of water sample cultures are received from DHH.

Patterson City Manager Dave Lowery said the water tower should not have shut down in this situation and city crews are looking into why it did.

This is the first ever boil order for Patterson, he added.

The water line break occurred Monday around 9 p.m. along U.S. 90 near Railroad Avenue when a service line pulled out of the main, according to Lowery.

Because the line broke and lost pressure, it could have, theoretically, caused back pressure drawing untreated water into the system, Lowery said.

“It is our estimation that this did not happen,” Lowery said.

City officials said they will attempt to utilize a mobile public address system to confirm the precautionary actions are over and any threat has been eliminated.

Anyone with special concerns or questions is asked to contact city hall at 395-5205.