A Saline County public water supply is not safe to drink, even if boiled.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has issued a Do Not Drink Advisory for the Sundowner West Mobile Home Park public water supply system located in Saline County. This advisory replaces a Boil Water Advisory because of the occurrence of manganese concentrations above the EPA Health Advisory Level (300 ug/L) for infants under six months in parts of the distribution system.

Customers should observe the following precautions until further notice:

• DO NOT GIVE TAP WATER TO INFANTS. Infants up to six months who drink water containing manganese in excess of the EPA Health Advisory Level for infants (300 ug/L) could experience adverse health effects.
• Water, juice, and formula intended for infants should not be prepared with tap water. Use bottled water or other water low in manganese for this purpose.
• DO NOT BOIL TAP WATER.  Manganese levels cannot be reduced by boiling. Excessive boiling can concentrate the manganese as water evaporates because the manganese remains in the water.
• Do not use water to cook or prepare food.
• Dispose of ice cubes and do not use ice from a household automatic icemaker.
• Tap water can be used for bathing. Supervision of children is necessary while bathing so that water is not ingested.
• Tap water may be used to flush toilets.

The advisory took effect on April 11 and will remain in effect until the conditions that placed the system at risk of contamination are resolved. This advisory was issued because of a loss of pressure in the distribution system due to a water line break. Failure to maintain adequate pressure may result in a loss of chlorine residuals and bacterial contamination. Because of the presence of manganese in some areas of the distribution system, KDHE is advising customers of Sundowner Mobile Home Park to not boil their water, which is the normal approach taken when a loss of pressure occurs.

Customers may contact Scott Kolling at 785-479-6864 for information about obtaining bottled water.

For more information about manganese please visit the KDHE webpage: KDHE Manganese Information

Regardless of whether the public water supplier or KDHE announced a Do Not Drink Order, only KDHE can issue the rescind order following testing at a certified laboratory.

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For consumer questions, please contact the water system at 785-479-6864, or KDHE at 785-296-5514. For consumer information please visit KDHE’s PWS Consumer Information webpage:

KDHE Water Disruption Information