Boil water advisory issued for City of Caney

CANEY, Kan. — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has issued a boil water advisory for the City of Caney public water supply system in Montgomery 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. 
• If your tap water appears dirty, flush the water lines by letting the water run until it clears. 
• 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. 

The advisory took effect on Dec. 25, 2022 and will remain in effect until the conditions that placed the system at risk of bacterial contamination are resolved, KDHE said.

Late Monday afternoon, KDHE released an update on the boil advisory, saying that the city has drinking water and non-potable water available to its customers while the water system is out of service. 

Both bottled water for drinking and cooking and non-potable water for sanitation will be available at City Hall, 100 W. 4th St., Caney, between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m., until regular service is restored, according to KDHE. 

KDHE emphasized that bottled water is to be used for drinking and cooking, and non-potable water should not be used for drinking and cooking. Customers should bring their own containers (buckets, coolers, empty jugs, etc.) to take away non-potable water. This water may be used for flushing toilets and other sanitation needs, but not for human consumption, KDHE said. 

KDHE officials issued the advisory because of low water pressure in the distribution system. Failure to maintain required water pressure may put the system at risk for bacterial contamination.  

Regardless of whether the public water supplier or KDHE announced a boil water advisory, only KDHE can issue the rescind order following testing at a certified laboratory. 

For consumer questions, please contact the water system at 785-343-2394, or KDHE at 785-296-5514. For consumer information, visit KDHE’s PWS Consumer Information webpage: kdhe.ks.gov/waterdisruption. 

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 and lodging program at kda.fsl@ks.gov or call 785-564-6767.