SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (Nov. 26, 2022) -- Mayor George Lauritson has apologized to local businesses in the City of Saint Robert, Missouri that lost water for up to six hours today on what, for many, is one of their busiest days of the year.

According to Lauritson, a water main break ran ten feet down a water main, and that break required shutting off numerous water valves to repair the break. Many though not all businesses on Highway Z and on Missouri Avenue north of Eastlawn lost water, and the city's water tanks have been depleted, which may lead to low water pressure until the tanks refill.

Lauritson said he will be in contact with the city engineer to find out why so many water valves had to be shut off, leading to loss of water in a much larger area than the location of the actual break.

Businesses report their water began to fail around noon; some businesses didn't have their water restored until 6 p.m.

Lauritson said city workers are trying to determine how far the water outage extended before issuing a boil advisory. Customers who lost water pressure should expect a boil advisory but it's not yet clear how many other customers may be affected.