Customers of the Trim Cane Water Association should boil their drinking and cooking water until further notice, water association president Mildred Wade said Friday.
The broken water line affects about 500 customers in the Bell Schoolhouse community north of Starkville, she said.
“Pressure was lost on the line due to a large leak and subsequent repair work,” Wade said in a written announcement.
The cause of the leak is unknown, but was likely due to ground shifts during the recent dry spell, she said.
Water intended for drinking or cooking should be boiled for at least one minute before use, Wade said. The boil-water notice will remain in effect until authorities in Jackson test samples for possible contamination. It will be Monday before samples can be sent to the lab, so the order is likely to be in force until sometime next week, Wade said.