TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has issued a boil water advisory for the City of Norton public water supply located in Norton County.
Customers should observe the following precautions until further notice:
- Boil water for one minute prior to drinking or food preparation or use bottled water.
- Dispose of ice cubes and do not use ice from a household automatic icemaker.
- 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 your tap water appears dirty, flush the water lines by letting the water run until it clears.
The advisory took effect on June 19, 2018 and will remain in effect until the conditions that placed the system at risk of bacterial contamination are resolved. The advisory is being issued following the loss of pressure. Failure to maintain adequate pressure may result in a loss of chlorine residuals and bacterial contamination.
Regardless of whether the public water supplier or KDHE announced the boil water advisory, only KDHE can issue a cancellation of this advisory following testing at a certified laboratory.
Restaurants and other food establishments that have questions about the impact of the boil water advisory on their business can contact the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s food safety & lodging program at kda.fsl@ks.gov or call 785-564-6767.
Water Restrictions have also been issued by the City of Norton. Due to the blue-green algae warning issued for Sebelius Lake, the City of Norton has directed by executive order per City Ordinance 1479, Section 4, the restriction of water usage for all of its water customers, effective immediately.
KDHE has advised the City to not utilize lake water as a water supply source, which restricts the City to using well water only. The City’s well capacity cannot handle the watering of lawns and other vegetation during this time and asks all water customers to comply with the water conservation measures.
Until further notice, the City prohibits the watering of lawns, washing down of sidewalks, parking lots and driveways. Unnecessary use of water is strongly discouraged during this time. Any violation of this executive order could result in a violation assessment of $25 per day. The City will notify the media and the public when the water restrictions are rescinded.
For updates online, go to:
- the KDHE news website at https://khap2.kdhe.state.ks.us/NewsRelease/nr_index.aspx
- the KDHE Facebook page at http://Facebook.com/KDHEnews or
- the KDHE Twitter page at http://Twitter.com/KDHE
- the City of Norton Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/cityofnortonksgov/
