Originally posted on November 1, 2016

GALENA, Kan. — Parts of the city of Galena have been advised to boil their water today, according to an advisory sent out by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

The affected areas, locally known as Empire, includes portions of the city north of 612 N. Jefferson St., south of 1709 N. Columbus St. and 1602 N. Wood St, east of 717 West Vine St. and west of 613 Jackson St.

KDHE recommends the following precautions:

• 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 first report of a possible problem was made yesterday morning at 10 a.m. Monday and fixed by 10:30 p.m. the same day, according to Kevin Williams, a member of city’s public works department. Crews found a 15-foot crack along an 8-inch main line. Williams said the defective part of the pipe was cut out and new pipe was inserted.

Currently, the city is waiting on lab samples sent out this morning to clear the boil order. Until then, the order is ongoing.

The last time Galena was issued a boil advisory was in August. Prior to that, it was under boil advisory in May of last year.

This story was updated to add Galena has fixed the underlying reason for the boil order.