St. Peters and St. Charles issue water conservation orders

Aug 15, 2025 - 16:01

ST. PETERS, Mo. - The cities of St. Peters and St. Charles have both issued a citywide water conservation orders and boil water advisories as of Friday morning, one day after damage to a pipeline co-owned by both cities.

"We are asking all residents and businesses to conserve water to maintain water pressure in our water system," said the City of St. Peters via a news release Friday. "Unfortunately, repairs to the pipeline are taking longer than expected and this is creating a challenge for keeping the water pressures at an essential level."

"We are urging all residents and businesses to take this seriously and conserve water immediately. To ensure an adequate water supply for essential needs, all non-essential water use is strictly prohibited," said the City of St. Charles in a separate news release Friday."

City officials are urging residents to avoid the following until the conservation order is lifted:

No irrigation of lawns, gardens, or landscaping.
No filling of swimming pools or hot tubs.
No washing of vehicles, driveways, or sidewalks.
Absolutely no other unnecessary water use.

On Thursday, a critical water interconnection pipeline, co-owned by St. Peters and St. Charles, was struck and damaged by a private contractor. This incident caused a "significant depressurization event" and loss of water pressure in the pipeline.

St. Charles city officials took action Thursday afternoon by issuing a boil advisory, followed by a conservation order on Friday. St. Peters issued the advisory, along with a conservation order one day later.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we are issuing this advisory now and hope to have the repairs completed and water testing results back by the end of the weekend," said the City of St. Peters. As soon as we receive notification of water safety, we will lift the boil water advisory."

The City of St. Charles previously estimated that making proper repairs and testing the water to clear the boil order could take 36-48 hours, suggesting a boil order may not be lifted until sometime this weekend.

As for the boil advisory, to ensure the safety, all water used for consumption should be brought to a rolling boil for at least three minutes and then allowed to cool before use. This includes water used for: