KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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Osawatomie, Kansas, Deputy City Manager Michele Silsbee says the city's water is safe to drink after boiling.
"I'm confident that boiling it is the proper precaution to be able to use it until we can get the advisory lifted."
This week, technicians at the City of Osawatomie Water Treatment facility found a mechanical issue with residents' first line of defense to clean drinking water.
"This was created by a mechanical failure in our pre-sedimentation basin. It's the way we remove sludge from the water we pull in from the river," said Silsbee. "That piece failed and we were no longer able to remove those things."
In September, KSHB 41 first reported on Osawatomie City Council accepting $48 million in federal loans and grants to build a new water plant. The process to accept funding for modern facilities began in 2020. Nearly five years later, the city is only 30% of the way complete with engineering plans.
"We are hoping to have the plant functional within four years if everything continues to go smoothly," explained Silsbee.
The grant and loan dollars are awarded through USDA Rural Development. Over the course of the loan, the City of Osawatomie will gradually raise prices each year to pay off its debt. City Manager Bret Glendening told KSHB 41 that building its own water facility would create stability in resident utility rates and water distribution control.
The Osawatomie Water Plant provides water for over 4,000 residents, including Rural Water Districts #1 and #3, Osawatomie State Hospital, and a bulk water station for residents not connected to city water lines.
Currently, the water facility is producing water, but the equipment malfunction is not fully resolved.
"A lot of our stuff is original. Some of it's from the 40s and some of it's from the 60s. There isn't much of it laying around to replace pieces. When we don't have something that's exactly what we need, then it must be fabricated," said Silsbee. "The piece that broke is not fully fixed yet because we are waiting to get those pieces in to get it fully back up and running. We were able to get the base into the point where it is able to produce water in the meantime."
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a boil water advisory on Thursday as a precaution. Silsbee says, tap water, if boiled for one minute is safe to consume. She says water quality is at an appropriate level to state regulations and technicians are awaiting results from the KDHE laboratory to lift the order.
Residents on Facebook were concerned about boiling tap water following a recent notice issued by the city. KSHB 41 asked Silsbee to clear up the confusion.
She responded, "We had a reading come back on the halo acetic acid that was elevated. Because the state regulates that on a rolling average, it's going to take us a few samples within regulation water to get rid of that high reading. We had to send out a letter... In that letter, it talks about how boiling the water could concentrate on that issue. But right now, the halo acetic acid levels are well within range and below the regulatory limit. There's not a concern when boiling water."
According to Silsbee, the city notified residents immediately following KDHE issuing a boil water advisory.
"The minute we knew the turbidity became high enough to signal that there could be an issue, KDHE was informed and KDHE issued the boil water advisory. We started notifying entities around the city and with Rural Water #3 of the issue."
The City of Osawatomie anticipates the boil water advisory to be lifted by the end of Saturday. During Silsbee's interview with KSHB 41, she said water samples were on their way to the state lab in Topeka.
City leaders are actively working to expedite the process of building the new water treatment facility. The new plant is expected to be completed in 2028.
To view the full press release issued by the City of Osawatomie, click here.
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