A water main break forced four Mehlville School District schools to close early Thursday morning.Â
Utility company American Water described the incident as an "emergency event" in an  to customers, with the break affecting a large swath of unincorporated south St. Louis County.Â
Mehlville started bussing students at Oakville High, Oakville Middle, Point and Wohlwend elementaries home early after the break around 9:30 a.m. Thursday.Â
The affected area, which roughly covers Oakville to the north and the confluence of the Meramec and Mississippi rivers to the south, is under precautionary boil water advisory for the next 48 hours.
Repairs are expected to take eight to 10 hours, according to American Water.
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All other Mehlville schools remain open with their normal schedules.Â
View life in St. Louis through the Post-Dispatch photographers' lenses. Edited by Jenna Jones.