LYONS ? Crews in central Kansas are fixing at least 16 potentially explosive natural gas leaks that were uncovered near a school and a hospital, city officials in Lyons said.

The Lyons City Council held a special meeting Tuesday night to approve up to $350,000 to repair the leaks and replace old pipes, some near Lyons Middle School and Rice County District No. 1 Hospital.

Lyons City Administrator John Sweet said the problem isn’t concentrated in a single area. Since Aug. 22, Kansas City, Mo.-based Aquila Inc. has found 16 class-one leaks near various Lyons buildings. Pipeline safety officials said the class-one designation is based on the concentration of natural gas found at a location.

A 90 percent concentration of gas was found by the hospital. The explosive limit is 4.5 percent, according to the Kansas Corporation Commission.

“This is a serious issue,” Sweet said. “All the city staff and departments are supporting the utility department in getting this issue resolved.”

Officials have recruited repair teams from Iola and Winfield and expect the survey and repairs to continue for a month.

Lyons owns and operates a gas distribution system that includes more than 28 miles of gas line.

Leo Haynos, pipeline safety chief for the KCC, said only 2 miles of pipe have been surveyed so far.

“We’ve found significant potential hazards, and we don’t know how many more are out there,” he said.

The deteriorating gas lines are about 50 years old, and about 15 miles of pipe will need to be replaced.

Haynos said it has been difficult to determine how old the leaks are.

City officials have been developing a gas line replacement plan using earmarked utilities revenue since 2004, but the fund contains just $21,000.

Sweet said that to pay for the repairs, the city will have to use money from the gas fund and a short-term loan intended for winter gas.

Sweet has asked residents to expect open holes while repairs go on and to report any unusual odors that might indicate a leak.