It’s now safe to use Wichita tap water; Valley Center, Rose Hill still under advisory

It’s now safe to drink and use Wichita tap water normally, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment confirmed early Thursday morning. But boil advisories in several surrounding communities will remain in effect for at least another day.

The all-clear for Wichita, Eastborough and Andover came at 12:41 a.m., after laboratory testing confirmed water quality has been restored. Wichita’s boil advisory, the second in eight months, lasted 32 hours.

KDHE rescinded the boil advisory for Derby at 8:38 a.m. Friday.

Advisories remain in effect for Rose Hill, Valley Center, Kechi and Sedgwick County rural water districts 2 and 3, all of which buy water from Wichita. KDHE spokesperson Matt Lara said those jurisdictions couldn’t start sampling their water until Wichita’s boil advisory was rescinded.

“Last night, we rescinded the Wichita one a little before 1 a.m., so they could have started sampling any time today,” Lara said. “Once they sample, they give it to the lab. Once it gets to the lab, it takes 24 hours before we will get those results back.”

A filter malfunctioned at Wichita’s 80-year-old water plant, causing cloudy water with “a higher than expected dose of solids” to be discharged into the distribution system. KDHE tested 180 water samples from different locations throughout the system for bacteria before lifting the advisory.

A spokesperson for the city said Thursday that unlike last October’s boil advisory, which was triggered by a major main break, Wichitans don’t need to flush their pipes before tap water can be used normally.

Wichita is the largest regional water provider in Kansas, serving more than 500,000 people.

The Eagle reported in 2019 that an engineering study found 100% of the city’s raw water pipes were in “very poor” condition as of 2017, and the city’s entire water infrastructure was at a “significant risk” of failure.

“Because we have a very old treatment plant, we’ve got to expect problems,” Public Works and Utilities Director Alan King said at a press conference Tuesday.

Construction is underway on Wichita’s new water treatment plant, which King said will likely be completed by the end of 2024 or early 2025.

This story was originally published June 9, 2022 at 12:53 AM.