WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ largest city is under a water boil order after a large water main break, leading Wichita-area schools to close and prompting residents to make a run on bottled water.
The city ordered the boil advisory Thursday afternoon, affecting its nearly 400,000 residents and some surrounding communities, following the break of a 42-inch main on Wichita’s north side.
Mayor Brandon Whipple asked residents not to hoard bottled water, but many area store shelves were wiped out of water by late Thursday. The advisory is to remain in effect until testing shows the city's water is safe. Officials hope to be able to lift the order at some point this weekend.
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TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) issued a boil water advisory for the following public water supply systems that purchase water from the City of Wichita:
Sedgwick Co RWD 1 City of Bel Aire, Sedgwick Co RWD 2 City of Rose Hill, City of Benton, Sedgwick Co RWD 3 El Paso Water Co. (City of Derby), City of Kechi and. the City of Valley Center. Most schools in the region are also closed Friday due to the water issue.
Customers should observe the following precautions until further notice:
• If your tap water appears dirty, flush the water lines by letting the water run until it clears.
• Boil water for one minute prior to drinking or food preparation or use bottled water.
• Dispose of ice cubes and do not use ice from a household automatic ice maker.
• Disinfect dishes and other food contact surfaces by immersion for at least one minute in clean tap water that contains one teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water.
• Water used for bathing does not generally need to be boiled. Supervision of children is necessary while bathing so that water is not ingested. Persons with cuts or severe rashes may wish to consult their physicians.
The advisory took effect on October 7 and will remain in effect until the conditions that placed the system at risk of bacterial contamination are resolved. KDHE issued the advisory because of a loss of pressure in the City of Wichita’s distribution system due to a waterline break. Failure to maintain pressure can lead to a loss of chlorine residual levels and may result in bacterial contamination.
Regardless of whether the public water supplier or KDHE announced a boil water advisory, only KDHE can issue the rescind order following testing at a certified laboratory.