The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has issued a boil water advisory for the public water supply in Baldwin City.

KDHE put the advisory in place Tuesday morning following a loss of pressure in the system that put the water supply at risk of bacterial contamination, a news release said.

Baldwin City public works director Kenny Oshel estimated the boil advisory would be in place for 24 hours, but said official word will come from the state when it is lifted.

The problem was created by a water pump problem that has now been fixed, Oshel said. He said the city is sending water samples to the state for testing to confirm it is safe.

Early this morning there was a failure in the city’s automated system that reads water levels and pressures and sends out signals when pumping is needed, Oshel said. He said that system should have triggered the pump house to pump water into the city’s two water towers, but didn’t.

Part of the town lost water and part had low pressure, and the state recommended a boil advisory as a precautionary measure, he said.

Oshel said they aren’t sure whether a brief electrical problem, software problem or something else caused the signal to fail.

“We think it’s an isolated thing, but we’ll keep a closer eye on it for the next week or two,” he said.

Baldwin City water customers should follow these precautions until the all clear from KDHE, the release said.

• 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.

In addition, KDHE noted that:

• 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.

Restaurants and other businesses that have questions about the advisory’s impact can contact KDHE at kda.fsl@ks.gov or call 785-564-6767.