UPDATE | Tuesday afternoon, the Kasnas Department of Health and Environment lifted the boil water advisory for the affected portion of Johnson County Rural Water District No. 7.
Laboratory tests showed no bacterial contamination, KDHE said, and other issues that may have caused contamination had been resolved.
PREVIOUS | The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) announced boil water advisories in Spring Hill and parts of Miami County and Johnson County on Monday as neighbors posted videos and pictures of brown water in the area.
The advisory is for Miami Rural Water District No. 2, Spring Hill and a portion of Johnson County Rural Water District No. 7. Residents north of Highway 56 are not included in the advisory.
KDHE suggests customers under the boil advisory should:
- Flush water lines (run water until it becomes clear), if it appears dirty.
- Boil for one minute any water that will be used for consumption.
- Dispose of ice cubes and stop using ice from automatic icemakers.
- Clean dishes and “other food-contact surfaces by immersion” for a minimum of one minute in a mixture of water and one teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water.
- Water used for bathing does not need to be boiled, but children should be supervised to ensure they do not ingest any water. People with cuts or rashes should consider speaking to a physician.
The advisory is in place due to “high turbidity” at the Miami RWD No. 2 treatment plant, where Johnson RWD No. 7 purchases water from.
Tiffanie Proctor, who lives in Spring Hill, said she noticed problems with her home’s tap water around two weeks ago.
“The water was super brown,” she said. “I filled it up, and I said, ‘That doesn’t look right.’”
Proctor, along with other neighbors who experienced the issues, posted pictures and videos of the water online.
In one video sent to 41 Action News, a line of dirt could be seen inside a bathtub after a neighbor said she drained the water.
“I was going to take the kids and go to the hotel because I absolutely refuse to bathe in brown water,” she said. “I don’t want to live in a place that has brown water. It doesn’t seem safe to me.”
Following the announcement of the advisories, 41 Action News was directed to Miami County Rural Water District No. 2.
According to staff at the site, the issues with the water originated at the facility last Friday.
“They found the next morning that the culprit was the lagoon pumps pumping in more sludge out of the lagoon,” General Manager Jerry Bennett said, describing the sludge as mud and other forms of dirt. “It pumped up into the clarifiers and essentially overloaded the clarifiers.”
Bennett said the sludge led to turbidity levels at the site being around three times higher than what they normally are.
After flushing out the lines, he said, neighbors should feel safe using the water.
“The water is still safe to drink,” he said. “If you have brown water, don’t drink that. We’ll do what we can to make the water safe for the customer. That’s what we’re here for.”
Bennett said the water district has not faced a boil water advisory since at least 1984.
After samples of water were taken, he added that updated results could come as early as Tuesday of this week.
KDHE said the advisories would remain in place until the conditions are resolved.
For more information, visit KDHE’s PWS consumer informationwebsite.
