Boil water advisory issued for Harvey County town

HARVEY COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) — State health officials want people who use the City of Walton public water supply system to boil the water before drinking it.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a boil water advisory on Wednesday for the Harvey County town. The KDHE says a waterline break caused a loss of pressure in the distribution system, which can lead to the risk of bacterial contamination.

Customers should observe the following precautions until further notice:

• Boil water for one minute before drinking it or using it in food preparation, or use bottled water.
• Dispose of ice cubes, and do not use ice from a household automatic icemaker.
• If your tap water appears dirty, flush the water lines by letting the water run until it clears.
• Disinfect dishes and other food-contact surfaces by immersing them for at least one minute in clean tap water containing one teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water.
• Water used for bathing does not generally need to be boiled. However, children must be supervised while bathing to prevent water from being ingested. Persons with cuts or severe rashes may wish to consult their physicians.

The KDHE will end the boil water advisory after a certified laboratory tests the water and it comes back as safe.

For consumer questions, please contact the water system at 620-837-3252 or KDHE at 785-296-5514 . For consumer information, please visit KDHE’s PWS Consumer Information webpage .

Restaurants and other food establishments that have questions about the impact of the boil water advisory on their business can contact the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s food safety and lodging program at kda.fsl@ks.gov or call 785-564-6767 .

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