SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Update 7:45 p.m.:
As of Friday evening, the force main pipe at Willard Beach is repaired, officials say.
Still, the beach will remain closed through Tuesday so more tests can be run to ensure safety, according to a tweet from the City of South Portland.
"Residents can resume normal water use," the tweet stated.
Original story:
Willard Beach in South Portland has been closed to the public after a main pipe burst on Thursday.
The force main pipe reportedly burst near Southern Maine Community College around 4:30 p.m., and the city activated equipment to bypass the pump station, reducing the volume of discharge into the ocean, the release said.
Residents who live in the area have been asked to reduce water usage Friday to "reduce the flow to the pump station and broken force main pipe," a release from the city said Friday.
A spokesperson for the City of South Portland said in a release Thursday that the closure was effective immediately until further notice while the city works with a contractor to repair the issue.
The closure is expected to last at least through June 6, and the beach will reopen once safety testing of the water and sand is complete, the city said.
Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Maine Healthy Beaches have been notified about the situation, the city said.