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IRONWOOD -- A large water main break in Ironwood has left residents with either no water at all or very low water pressure.

At 10:30 Friday morning central time, crews had already logged more than a full-day's worth of work, trying to repair a leak in the City of  Ironwood's 16-inch transmission water main.

"So, the crew is out trying to chip through the frost to get to the main," said Utilities Manager Bob Tervonen.

The main serves approximately 3,000 residents, and according to Tervonen, the main broke due to old age.

Workers turned off all the water valves they could, but Tervonen says not all valves were able to be shut off--the reason for some residents losing all water and others, just losing water pressure.

But temporary loss of water wasn't the only concern for Ironwood residents.  Structural damage is also something that was weighing heavy on the minds of some area business owners.

As of early Friday afternoon, approximately two million gallons of water had been lost.

"The water between my building and the residence next door, which is just a matter of a few yards, was like a river," recalls Bonnie Gulan.  "It was probably between two and three feet."

The water was flowing through nearby properties.  Firefighters used sandbags to prevent flooding, but it wasn't enough.

"I was shocked," claimed Jeff Ramme.  "We got here and there was a foot-and-a-half of water running through here.  It was a river."

Crews are currently working to patch the hole in the water main.

Even though water will probably be restored later Friday evening, a boil advisory will remain in effect and most likely throughout the weekend until the quality of the water can be tested and results come out clean.