FORT MILL — Town-supplied water is safe to drink.

Town officials advised residents who lost water service Friday to boil their tap water before consumption as a precaution until water supplies are tested. Test results that came back Sunday were negative for bacteria or any other harmful substances, according to the town.

Thousands of Fort Mill residents were without water Friday afternoon while town employees attempted to patch a leak in the water main running under Skipper Street.

The town realized the six-inch line was leaking about two days ago, according to Public Works Director Davy Broom. The full extent of the problem became clear when water from the busted main filled the hole a work crew dug at the corner of Grier and Skipper streets to work on the line.

“We had to take off the main line into town [from Rock Hill] temporarily until we take enough pressure off this line to repair it,” Broom said Friday at around 3:30 p.m. while a small gas-powered pump sprayed gallons of water onto the street. Town workers also opened the valves on as many as seven fire hydrants to relieve the water pressure in the line.

He hoped to have the problem fixed by 4:30 p.m.

With the main’s incoming line shut down, everything are without water service. Residents and businesses east of downtown maintained water service although they were drawing water from the town’s Doby’s Bridge Road water tower, Broom said.

“Most of what we do is trouble shooting,” Broom said. “We get one this bad every couple of years.”

Broom was unsure of the line’s age.

“If I had to guess, I’d say its at least 80 years old,” he said.

Most of the water lines running beneath Fort Mill’s older neighborhoods are about the same age, he added.

Herald reporter Karen Bair contributed.