GALVESTON -- Water service was disrupted and a boil-water notice warning was issued for west Galveston Island Friday, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Galveston officials said the water problems affected areas west of 81st Street, which is about two-thirds of the island.

About 8,000 people were affected.

City officials said the disruption was caused by a fire at the city's airport pump station at about 2 a.m.

"That fire, we expect, was caused from inundation during Hurricane Ike and salt water," Deputy City Manager Brandon Wade said. "The line shorted out and essentially caused the pump station to fail."

Workers spent Friday hooking up generators to the pump station, which the island will use until the electrical wiring is fixed. Water was turned back on Friday afternoon, but it still needed to be boiled before consuming.

The repair could take up to two months.

City officials said they had not been able to secure federal funds to fix the line.

"FEMA's system position in the past is that if the lines have not failed yet that we would need to prove to them they were going to fail and that's really not possible," Wade said.

The city will ask FEMA for a reimbursement to cover the estimated $250,000 needed to repair the system.

A boil-water notice was issued for the area, including Treasure Island in Brazoria County and Jamaica Beach, as a precaution. The notice is in effect until the city issues a clearance, possibly by Tuesday.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality needs to test the water safety before lifting the order.

"You don't realize how much need water until you don't have it," said resident Marie Ullrich.

Ullrich, 78, said she could not take a shower, wash her dishes, or drink anything but an old pot of coffee Friday afternoon.

Moody Gardens and Schlitterbahn were in the affected area.

Schlitterbahn officials said the park is open, but the restrooms were closed. It was using portable toilets and hand washing systems. Moody Gardens said it was open and the toilets are being operated manually with buckets of water.

"Once we have cleared that boil-water notice, we would encourage all citizens to run their water in their own homes for a bit in order to purge any water out of their own systems," Wade said.

Officials said water used for drinking, cooking and ice making should be brought to a vigorous, rolling boil and then boiled for two minutes.