KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. Share your story idea with Ryan.

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Osawatomie, Kansas, Deputy City Manager Michele Silsbee says the city’s water is safe to drink after it is boiled.

“I’m sure boiling it is the correct precaution so we can use it until the recommendation is lifted.”

Ryan Gamboa/KSHB

This week, technicians at the City of Osawatomie Water Purification plant found a mechanical problem with residents’ first line of defense to clean drinking water.

“This occurred due to a mechanical failure in our primary sedimentation basin. This is the way we remove sludge from the water we draw from the river,” Silsbee said. “This piece failed and we couldn’t handle these anymore.”

In September, KSHB 41 first reported As the Osawatomie City Council accepts $48 million in federal loans and grants to build a new water facility. The process of accepting funding for modern facilities began in 2020. Nearly five years later, only 30% of the city’s engineering plans are complete.

“If everything continues to go well, we hope to have the facility up and running within four years,” Silsbee explained.

Ryan Gamboa/KSHB

Grant and loan dollars are available through USDA Rural Development. Over the life of the loan, the City of Osawatomie will gradually increase prices each year to pay off the debt. City Manager Bret Glendening told KSHB 41 that installing its own water plant would create stability in residential usage rates and water distribution control.

The Osawatomie Water Plant provides water to more than 4,000 residents, including Rural Water Districts 1 and 3, Osawatomie State Hospital, and a public water station for residents not connected to city water lines.

Water is currently being produced in the water facility, but the equipment malfunction has not been fully resolved.

“Most of our stuff is original. Some are from the ’40s, some are from the ’60s. There’s not much around to replace pieces. When we don’t have something exactly what we need, then it has to be made up,” Silsbee said. “The broken part has not been fully fixed yet because we are waiting to get these parts working again. In the meantime, we have managed to get the base to the point where it can produce water.”

Ryan Gamboa/KSHB

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a recommendation Thursday to boil water as a precaution. Silsbee says tap water is safe to consume if it is boiled for one minute. He said the water quality was in compliance with state regulations and technicians were awaiting results from the KDHE laboratory to lift the order.

Residents on Facebook were concerned about boiling tap water following a recent announcement by the municipality. KSHB 41 asked Silsbee to clear up the confusion.

Ryan Gamboa/KSHB

He responded as follows: “We have received a measurement of elevated halo acetic acid. Since the government regulates this on a constant average, we will need to take a few samples of normal water to get rid of this high measurement. To send a letter… In that letter he stated that boiling the water was related to this issue.” “There is talk of how to focus, but currently halo acetic acid levels are well below legal limits and there are no concerns about boiling the water.”

Ryan Gamboa/KSHB 41

According to Silsbee, the city notified residents immediately after KDHE issued a boil water advisory.

“Once we knew the turbidity had gotten high enough to signal that there might be a problem, KDHE was notified and KDHE issued a boil water advisory. We began reporting the problem to city and Rural Water #3 agencies.”

The City of Osawatomie expects the boil water advisory to be lifted by the end of Saturday. Water samples are on their way to the state lab in Topeka, Silsbee said in an interview with KSHB 41.

City leaders are actively working to expedite construction of the new water treatment plant. The new facility is expected to be completed in 2028.

To view the full press release issued by the City of Osawatomie, Click here.

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