More boil orders end for Kansas water providers

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Kansas health officials have ended the boil water advisory for five more of the 13 impacted water systems.

After lab testing, the advisory has been lifted for the Montgomery County Rural Water District 1C and the Chautauqua County Rural Water Districts 1, 3, and 4. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment also rescinded the order for the City of Chautauqua.

Six advisories remain. The boil water advisory for the following systems continues pending laboratory testing:

• Chautauqua Co RWD 2
• Elk Co RWD 1
• City of Grenola
• City of Peru
• City of Longton

While under a boil water advisory, customers should observe the following precautions:

• Boil water for one minute before drinking or 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 said the water systems purchased water from the Public Wholesale Water Supply District (WSD) 20, and the water supplier could not maintain the minimum required chlorine residual. When that happens, the system can be at risk for bacterial contamination.

If you have consumer questions, please contact your water system or KDHE at 785-296-5514 . For consumer information, please visit KDHE’s Public Water Supply Consumer Information webpage .

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