A timeline of events Thursday afternoon in Wichita
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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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A water main break triggered a state advisory to boil water for Wichita and some area cities. Here is a timeline of events that occurred Thursday:
1:32 p.m. – An Evergy powerline insulator fails, momentarily reducing power to the city’s water treatment plant and pump stations.
1:33 p.m. – Cheney Raw Water Pump Station, Water Treatment Plant, and the Hess High Service Pump Station all experience a disruption to the power supply. Most of the equipment at the treatment plant shuts down, as do the pumps at Cheney and Hess Pump Station, triggering a dramatic decrease in pressure because the distribution systems do not have elevated water storage.
1:34 p.m. – City staff began manually restarting pumps at Hess and Cheney pump stations.
1:37 pm. - Pumps at Cheney were restarted and raw water pressure was restored. As the Hess pumps were restarted, distribution pressure began to increase. Staff returned the pumping rate to what it had been before the power interruption.
1:40 p.m. - Pressure inside the distribution system begins to drop. Flow is increased to 40,000 gallons per minute above what customers were using to keep up with the dropping pressure.
2:00 p.m. - Water line break discovered near 17th Street and I-135. Staff begin assessing damage to the pipe break area.
2:15 - 2:45 p.m. - City staff and KDHE discuss the break and the potential for bacterial contamination with a drop in pressure. Wichita’s distribution pipes usually run at between 45 and 90 psi. When pressure drops below 20 psi, a boil advisory is required.
3 p.m. - Boil water advisory issued.
This story was originally published October 10, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
