HOISINGTON — While Hoisington officials knew in advance they had received good news, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s official notice to rescind the community’s boil water advisory was issued two hours later, noted Hoisington City Manager Jonathan Mitchell.

“We had gotten our test results back around 1 p.m., but then we had to wait for the KDHE to issue their official rescind notice,” Mitchell said. 

The official release was issued at 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. The advisory had been issued Monday because of a waterline break resulting in a loss of pressure in the distribution system. Failure to maintain adequate pressure may result in a loss of chlorine residuals and bacterial contamination, the KDHE noted. “Public water suppliers in Kansas take all measures necessary to notify customers quickly after a system failure or shutdown,” the KDHE’s rescind notice read. “Regardless of whether it’s the supplier or KDHE that announces a boil water advisory, KDHE will issue the rescind order following testing at a certified laboratory.”

Laboratory testing samples collected from the City of Hoisington indicate no evidence of bacteriological contamination and all other conditions that placed the system at risk of contamination are deemed by KDHE officials to be resolved.  

Mitchell credits the prompt action by his city water department staff with the prompt end result. “We noted that the water samples were collected between 7:50 and 8:20 a.m. on Tuesday, so we were reasonably assured that the water supply remained safe,” he said. “Thanks go to Hailey Jump and Dale Demel for their great work in this situation.”