Madison and nearby rural areas are currently in a boil water advisory.
The advisory is until further notice after construction crews hit a water main Tuesday afternoon. Early indications were the incident site was near the junction of Kansas Highways 99 and 58 just west of town, but City Clerk Alice Grimm says the incident apparently happened near Casey’s near the junction of Fourth Street, Southwest Boulevard and Lincoln Street around 2:15 pm.
Grimm tells KVOE News the main has been repaired and water service will be slowly restored.
Crews had recently started a project to replace all the box culverts from the K-58/K-99 junction east along K-58 to Lincoln Street.
Significant water main breaks can lead to a loss of water pressure, which can in turn lead to a loss of chlorine residuals and thus an increased risk of bacterial contamination.
Water handling steps can be found below, courtesy of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
*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 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 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.
