Tap water in parts of Kingman County unsafe to drink, brush teeth with, KDHE says
People living and working in areas of Kingman County shouldn’t drink, cook with or brush their teeth with the tap water until further notice.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment on Monday issued a “Do Not Drink” order for the city of Kingman and Rural Water District No. 1 after “secondary water sources known to be high in nitrate have been activated in order to meet water usage demands,” according to a news release.
The order “will remain in effect until the conditions that placed the system at risk of contamination are resolved.”
The KDHE said people should avoid using the tap water for any purpose where it might be swallowed. Boiling, filtering or freezing the water will not reduce the risk. Nitrates will not evaporate out of the water if it’s left standing, the KDHE says.
People should:
- Use bottled water for drinking, cooking, food preparation and brushing teeth
- Throw out ice cubes made with the water, including in automatic ice makers
- Make sure children don’t swallow any water while bathing
- Prepare juice, formula and food for infants with bottled water. Infants younger than six months old can become seriously ill or die if they drink water with high nitrates levels.
The tap water can be used to flush toilets.
Anyone with questions can contact the water system or the KDHE at 785-296-5514 or visit www.kdheks.gov/pws/emergencyresponse/water_disruption.htm. Restaurants and other food establishments can call the Department of Agriculture 785-564-6767 or email kda.fsl@ks.gov.
This story was originally published July 6, 2020 at 12:30 PM.
