Pearl River County residents who receive water from the Timberlane Virginia Manor Water Supply were notified earlier this week they were under a boil water notice.

That water system is part of what used to be Dixie Utilities , which is currently in the receivership by the City of Picayune.

Public Works Director Chad Frierson said the reason for the boil water notice was due to a contractor breaking a water main in the area on Monday at about 4:30 p.m.

The line was repaired Tuesday night at about midnight but the area can not come off the boil water notice until two samples of the water come back clear from the Mississippi Health Department, Frierson said. A boil water notice is issued any time water pressure falls below recommended levels.

Samples were taken Tuesday after the line was fixed and another was taken on Wednesday. Samples will be taken until the tests report the water is clean, Frierson said.

The affected area includes about 171 homes in the Eagle Heights subdivision. Until the tests come back clean, residents are instructed to not drink tap water from public or private buildings, use water at parks in the area, use ice made from water in that area, or use the water to make drinks, juices or fountain soft drinks, according to a press release from the Mississippi State Department of Health.