All of Lyon County’s rural water districts are now included in the ongoing boil water advisory following recent action by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The current list of affected areas in addition to Emporia is, now, as follows:
*Olpe and, by extension, Hartford
*Lyon County RWD 1 including the cities of Allen, Admire and Americus
*Lyon County RWD 2 immediately west of Emporia into far west Chase County
*Lyon County RWD 3 including southwest Lyon County
*Lyon County RWD 4 including Neosho Rapids
*Lyon County RWD 5 including east-central and northeast Lyon County
*Coffey County RWD 2E including customers in Lyon County
*Park Place Communities mobile park home located east of Emporia on US Highway 50
The updated list comes as work continues to reduce turbidity levels in the city of Emporia’s water supply. According to an update from Emporia City Manager Trey Cocking during KVOE’s 7:05 am newscast Thursday, work in the overnight hours has led to some improvement in the plant’s “reaction” to the situation, however, there are still high levels of turbidity coming into the plant at this time.
Thanks to the procedures implemented in the overnight hours, Cocking told KVOE News Thursday morning they were seeing some positive results including the Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) levels, the measurement of turbidity in water, in the plant’s water basin dropping “into the 20s” which is a “vast improvement” from just a day before. With all of this in mind, Cocking says there is still plenty of work ahead before they can begin flushing the system, a process that should take between 12-18 hours to complete.
Once that is done the city can begin collecting samples for testing which will be done at the city’s certified lab. Cocking says having the lab in town will make the process much quicker than if they had to send test samples to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment in Topeka.
In the meantime, KDHE has several recommendations for residents to follow as the advisory continues.
*Boil water for one minute before drinking or food preparation or use bottled water for both humans and pets.
*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.
If you do consume water that has not been boiled prior you should monitor for symptoms of digestional distress and illness and if you start to become ill contact a physician right away. Wednesday, KVOE News received reports from residents of “residue” developing while boiling water.
KVOE News asked Cocking if this was a cause for concern to which he responded it is not, it is a normal reaction.
Stay with KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media for more updates as they develop.
