Salty Wichitans roast city Twitter account as water-less conditions persist
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Wichita boil water advisory
A major Wichita water main break on Oct. 7, 2021, led the Kansas Department of Heath and Environment to place the city and others that purchase water from its system under a boil water advisory.
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As some Wichitans stockpiled bottled water against the mayor’s pleadings and hunkered down for the long haul amid a water crisis, others are coping with a boil advisory by airing out their grievances with the city on social media.
The city, hoping to spread the word widely and quickly that residents should boil tap water and avoid hoarding, took to its official Twitter handle to alert Wichitans.
But many residents frustrated by hours of no information — and no water — immediately replied with withering take-downs of the city’s response and overall water quality to begin with.
Others remained more sanguine about the situation, with some cracking jokes about the city’s lack of tools to notify most of the town quickly and others taking issue with how nonchalant the approach to a lack of safe drinking water for an entire metro area appeared to be.
The city stood the criticism for a bit, but eventually clapped back on Twitter. That sparked a new round of jokes and recriminations, as other residents jumped into the fray.
But some users were in no mood for the city’s jokes, particularly as Friday wore on with no potable water and officials said it would not have updates on water quality until the next day.
Ultimately, however, it may have been one Twitter user who won the day, when they captured the frustration of more than half a million residents without water for a second day in a row in a town that has seen its share of ups and downs.
This story was originally published October 8, 2021 at 3:18 PM.
