A boil order for Illinois American Water customers in Columbia and Waterloo in Monroe County and Millstadt and much of St. Clair County was lifted early Friday afternoon.

Illinois American Water said the continuous cold weather this week caused an increase in water main breaks and resulted in a loss of pressure across its distribution system, resulting in the boil order being issued on Wednesday.

The boil order did not include Fountain Water District customers in Monroe County.

A water line break occurred Thursday in Burksville, but it was due to a line being struck and not from the cold. The break affected about 15 customers, Fountain Water District spokesperson Wendy Hill said.

“Fortunately, we have not had any breaks due to the cold, but we are definitely on watch,” Hill said. “We have helped multiple customers with frozen meters and water pipes. We haven’t seen cold like this, for an extended period, for a long time.  The cold is a force to be reckoned with – that’s for sure!”

Waterloo Director of Public Works Tim Birk said there were two service line breaks to Waterloo homes earlier this week.

“We have also experienced pipes in homes freezing,” Birk said. “Most of our water problems will be the property owner’s responsibility to repair.”

The City of Waterloo issued a notice Friday evening of a water main break affecting the Country Club Hills and Remington Ridge subdivisions. The city said it will need to shut water off in those subdivisions Tuesday, Jan. 9, at 8:30 a.m. to repair a water main break.

“It is unknown how long this will take, but crews will remain on site until repairs are completed,” the city posted on its Facebook page. “Once repairs are completed, you will be under a boil water order until we receive an approved water quality test from IEPA.”