Village of Saranac Lake Department of Public Works Employee Nick Sweeney stands in a hole at the site of a water main break on Keene Street this morning. (Enterprise photo — Chris Knight)

SARANAC LAKE — A water main break has left some local residents, and the local hospital, without running water.

The break on Keene Street was detected around 12:30 this morning by a passing state Department of Transportation plow driver, according to village Department of Public Works Superintendent Jeff Dora.

“They noticed a lot of water coming down the street,” he said. “They were the ones that noticed it.”

Crews eventually found a ruptured 12-inch main near the Keene Street-Elm Street intersection. They cut out the bad pipe and were working to attach a new section of water main as of 7:30 a.m.

“It’s cut, we just have to get the other piece of pipe, put the two fittings on and slowly bring the water pressure up,” Dora said. “Unless it’s broke in other spots, hopefully we should be back up and running in two hours.”

In a press release issued later this morning, Dora said crews hope to have the water back on by mid-day at the latest.

The state Department of Health has issued a boil water order for those whose lost their water service due to the break. It applies to the following areas: Keene Street, Park Avenue (between Cedar and Keene streets), Broadway/state Route 86 from Keene Street to the village line past Adirondack Medical Center, Old Lake Colby Road, Grace Street, Cedar Ridge, Trudeau Road and the Beechwood subdivision. Residents are advised not to drink the water without boiling it first.

Adirondack Health spokeswoman Hannah Hanford said the hospital is on backup water, and non-essential personnel are being asked to work from home today, if possible. The hospital has been updating its employees via email.

“We have large supplies of water for patient care and water for flushing toilets by the bucket,” she said. “That’s why we’re trying to minimize the number of non-essential people who are here. There are some surgeries that are going on, but we’re trying to be sure that we’re only using things right now that are essential. We’re being told they’re working on it as quickly as they can.”

The boil water order will be in effect until the repairs are complete and “satisfactory coliform bacteria samples are collected on two consecutive days,” according to the DOH advisory.