The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has issued a boil water advisory for Fort Riley.
On Thursday, a water main break at Fort Riley led to pressure loss in the line, which puts the water at risk of bacteria contamination.
This has caused certain facilities to close Friday including all on-post schools, 1st Infantry Division Child Development Center, Warren East Child Development Center, Custer Hill School Age Center, Parent Central, Craig Fitness Center and USO Center.
Areas under the boil advisory at Fort Riley include the Warner Peterson and Ellis Heights on-post housing communities; 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team barracks complexes 7001, 7002, 7003, and 7081; and offices and facilities in the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team footprint, including but not limited to 1ABCT headquarters, Devil Den dining facility, Craig Fitness Center, Sparetime Interactive Entertainment, Army Community Service Annex, Kapaun Chapel, Battalion Headquarters, Motor Pools, Company Operation Facilities, First Division Dental Clinic, USO, Burger King, 24 Hour Shopette, Post Exchange Furniture Store, Warren East Child Development Center, Eyster Pool, Youth Center, CYS Headquarters, Adventure Park, Fire Station 1, post office, shopette, banks, library, telephone exchange, Jefferson Elementary School, Fort Riley Middle School and Morris Hill Elementary.
Some neighborhoods and facilities in these areas experienced water outages Friday morning as crews repaired the lines.
In an unrelated situation, a water line repair in Riley County on Wednesday caused a boil water advisory for Riverchase Mobile Home Park. KDHE rescinded the advisory on Friday afternoon.
The KDHE advises residents to take the following precautions until further notice:
• If your tap water appears dirty, flush the water lines by letting the water run until it clears.
• 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 ice maker.
• 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.