Grayslake Officials Hope to Lift Boil Order Friday

Grayslake village officials hope to be able to lift the boil order Friday that has been in place since Wednesday afternoon.

Village Manager Mike Ellis told Grayslake Patch Thursday that the village is "in the (Environmental Protection Agency) testing procedure now.

"We hope to be able to lift the order Friday, but this cannot be absolutely confirmed at this time," said Ellis.

The boil order was issued following a loss in water pressure in Grayslake. 

"A preliminary investigation revealed that a telemetry system malfunction, possibly caused by the extreme cold temperatures experienced over the last three days, led to the loss of pressure," officials said in a press release issued Wednesday. "Immediately upon learning of the malfunction, village crews responded by overriding the automatic operating system and manually pumping water back into the system. Normal water pressure was restored in less than 30 minutes."

The boil order was issued in accordance with EPA regulations, officials said, and was set to remain in place for 36-48 hours. 

Residents Question Notification Process

Some residents have emailed Patch or commented on a story about the boil order that they were not informed about the situation. 

"Just called to let my neighbor know and she said she received a robocall. I never received a call," one resident commented.

According to the village website, "the village immediately issued a community-wide notification phone call and news blast through email, Twitter, Facebook, and www.villageofgrayslake.com. Notifying signs have been installed on major roads."

Ellis said the community notification system has been in place since 2007 and includes most landline phone numbers.

"The system has cell phone, email and text message capability," Ellis said.
 
"People need to sign up for the non-landline services and can do this on the village website," he added. "The system allows an address to include up to three phone numbers and up to four email addresses. For landline notifications, residents can confirm that their number is included in the system by contacting the village’s Request for Service system on our website and ask us to check their status and we will let them know."