by Greg Palmer, originally posted on August 15, 2016

MANHATTAN, Kan. (WIBW) — People in Manhattan had to change their routines on Monday.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment advised Manhattan resident else to boil their water because a loss of power at the city’s water facility could have allowed contamination into the system.

It meant businesses also had to make adjustments, including at Kansas State University, which shut down water fountains and posted warnings around campus.

“We had to shut down our Subway restaurant, just to make sure that we were following proper protocol with out food handling and customer safety,” said K-State Union Director of Marketing and Communications Audrey Taggart-Kagdis “We also operate a couple of other cafes across campus that we went ahead and closed today as well.”

The City of Manhattan said a faulty breaker was to blame for the loss of power.

“We have hundreds of breakers at the water plant,” said Ron Fehr, Manhattan City Manager. “This one though, really kept the whole system shut down. We were able to make repairs to that and get it functioning again.”

Before the advisory can be lifted, KDHE must perform tests to ensure the system is clear of harmful bacteria. While the city says they are confident the water is safe, Manhattan resident Karsten Burns said he and his family weren’t taking any chances.

“With the potential of their being bacteria in the water, we didn’t want to take that risk,” said Burns. “We didn’t want to risk anything especially with contaminated water or whatever that would be.”

Until the KDHE gives the all clear, Manhattan residents are advised to use boil or bottled water. City officials say they hope to have results from the KDHE test by Tuesday night.