BETHEL - A temporary pipeline put into use after a summer storm extensively damaged the town's waterworks is prone to freezing, which can disrupt service, officials said Monday.

A backup supply, meanwhile, hasn't been sanctioned for drinking water use by the state.

The two issues led Bethel Water District trustees to issue a boil-water order on Monday. The district is also asking its 560 customers to conserve water.

That decision came after an emergency meeting Monday involving district trustees, town and county officials, and a consulting engineer on the water system project.

The order, which does not affect western Bethel or people with private wells, instructs district customers to use bottled water or boil water for five minutes before use. The order applies to water being used for consumption, such as drinking water, washing dishes, making ice, and food preparation.

"It's a precaution," said Al Hodsdon, an engineer consulting with the town who took part in the meeting via speakerphone.

The district has been using a 1,600-foot-long temporary pipeline to transport water from Chapman Brook since a July storm filled its reservoir on the brook with mud and debris. District officials said Monday that the pipeline froze in several places during to the recent cold snap.

"We knew it was going to be prone to freezing," said Mike Broderick, a district trustee. "We were hoping we would get the other supply online before it happened."

The district has been trying to thaw the temporary pipeline using mechanical force vibration, torches and controlled burns under the pipe.

The district created a second temporary impoundment area to keep a supply of water flowing from a tributary of Chapman Brook. But while that water comes from the same tributary as an earlier impoundment area, the Maine Drinking Water Program required the boil order because the new water source hasn't been tested for bacteria.

"They're insisting on a boil water order," said Lucien Roberge, district superintendent.

In the summer, district customers were not required to boil water because the town was supplied with water trucked in from elsewhere. Cold weather makes water more likely to freeze in transit, and winter weather also makes trucking a less viable option.

But Scott Parker, director of the Oxford County Emergency Management Agency, said trucks could be kept warm in public works buildings in Bethel and Rumford at either end of the transit. Roberge said the temperature must be a minimum of 32 degrees Fahrenheit before water trucking can occur.

Parker said the town may also use some of the 5,000 1-gallon jugs of water being kept at Bethel's fire station.

Customers also are asked to conserve water by reducing shower time and toilet flushing.

"The intention is to reduce demand, at least for the next few days, to the lowest amount possible," Broderick said.

The district has been working on wells at a new, permanent groundwater facility on North Road. It completed a 2-mile-long, 12-inch pipe to connect the wells with the system and hopes to have it operating before Christmas.

The boil-water order is anticipated to last until Dec. 19. For more information, contact the Bethel Water District at 824-2342 or the Maine Drinking Water Program at 287-2070.