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Water is flowing below normal pressure and is expected to return to “near normal” sometime Thursday night, Mayor Dean Trantalis said in an evening news conference.

A pressure patch has been put in the hole in the water main, which has increased water pressure, Trantalis said.

Those involved in the repairs are “confident” that the patch will provide “temporary relief” while crews work to redirect the water flow through a backup line and replace the broken pipe, he said.

The installation could take through the weekend, Trantalis said.

While repairs are underway, a boil water advisory is in effect until and water distribution sites will stay open until at least Saturday, Trantalis said.

“This was not just a minor incident, this impacted many hundreds of thousands of hundreds of people,” Trantalis said.

“It was clearly haphazard,” he said. “It’s clearly something that we’re going to seek retribution for.”

Water shut off for several hours

The service outage also impacted surrounding municipalities that receive their water through the city, including Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Oakland Park, Wilton Manors and sections of Davie and Tamarac, according to the city’s Twitter page.

A 42-inch water main was damaged Wednesday by a subcontractor working to repair electric lines near the city’s Executive Airport for Florida Power & Light

Crews responded immediately, but as they were working, the damaged pipe collapsed, forcing the city to turn off the water flow, Trantalis said.

Shoppers look at empty shelves as large jugs of water are sold out at a supermarket after the water main break in Fort Lauderdale.

The water main delivered water from the city’s wellfields to the Fiveash Water Treatment Plant, the mayor said.

Another water treatment plant is still producing water but at a much lower capacity with a limited ability to serve the city and its residents, Deputy City Manager Rob Hernandez told reporters. An estimated 220,000 customers were impacted.

Residents in need of bottled water can find it at the Beach Community Center on 33rd Avenue, Mills Pond Park on Northwest 9th Avenue and Riverland Park on Southwest 27th Avenue.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect address for a bottled water pickup.

CNN’S Hollie Silverman contributed to this report.



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