Tryon Water Department lifted the town’s boil water notice effective this morning around 9:45 a.m.

The boil water notice was in effect Tuesday, Dec. 10, Wednesday, Dec. 11 and into the morning Thursday, Dec. 12 for all Tryon water customers after a main trunk waterline broke around 4 p.m. Tuesday near the Tryon Water Plant.

The waterline was gushing about 5,000 gallons of water a minute when first discovered with the line gushing for approximately 30 minutes before town crews were able to shut the line off. Estimates are that the town lost approximately 150,000 gallons of water.

Tryon Town Manager Joey Davis said the cause of the break is unknown but there were some trees there so roots could have caused the break, as well as the age of the pipe.

The break was discovered when customers on Melrose Avenue Extension alerted the town with reports of no water. The water plant also has alarms that were alerting a significant amount of water escaping, Davis said.

It took town crews a bit of time to figure out exactly where the break was, which was below the water plant in the Carolina Drive/Glengarnock Road area.

The initial boil water advisory notice was in effect for 48 hours from the time of the break for all Tryon water customers, but the state could have lifted the notice Wednesday evening.

It was not yet known as of press time whether the boil water notice was needed for 24 hours or 48 hours.

“The water customers on the Town of Tryon water system in Polk County are experiencing periods of low pressure and outages in the distribution system due to a waterline break. Periods of low or no pressure in the distribution system increases the potential for back siphonage and introduction of bacteria into the water system,” states the town’s advisory. “Therefore, the Division of Water Resources advises that when water is restored, consumers boil all water used for human consumption (including drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation) or use bottled water. Vigorous boiling for one minute should kill any disease-causing organisms that may be present in the water. This office is strongly urging the water consumers to conserve water whenever possible. This advisory remains in effect until further written notification is issued.”

The town issued notices regarding the break, which was repaired around 9:40 p.m. Tuesday through Facebook, Twitter, the town’s website at exploretryon.com, the Tryon Daily Bulletin and local news stations.

Town crews were scheduled to conduct water samples on Wednesday, Dec. 11 to submit to the state.

Davis said on Wednesday the town was optimistic the boil water notice could be lifted yesterday but it will be up to the state whether it recommends a 24-hour or a 48-hour boil water notice.

For more information contact Tryon Town Hall at 828-859-6654 or visit www.tryondailybulletin.com for updates on the boil notice.