Topeka residents pulled together in getting through drinking water crisis

Topeka was under a boil advisory from Sunday to Thursday. To that we say, rats, nuts and ugh.

A broken PVC pipe, used to transport chlorine gas along the exterior of a building at the plant at 3245 N.W. Waterworks Drive, appears to be at fault, reports the Topeka Capital-Journal’s Tim Hrenchir.

On Tuesday, the city government began asking water service customers to start flushing water through their water supply systems — and they appear to have done so in force, helping to flush through millions of gallons of water to speed up the process

Hrenchir reports 60 million gallons of water had to be boiled or discarded in the wake of the discovery of potential contamination in the city of Topeka's water supply.

Thankfully, officials told The Capital-Journal that while the situation left the city's tap water unfit for drinking by humans or animals, it was still OK for bathing, doing laundry or using in a dishwasher.

Residents were asked to use bottled water or boil tap water for one minute before drinking it or using it to prepare food. Think about that — even brushing one's teeth required the use of bottled or boiled water. The same was true for giving drinking water to our furry friends.

Luckily, the Water Department appears to have caught and identified the problem quickly and then notified the public of the problem.

Extreme cold is the likely culprit, adding another layer of difficulty in one of our coldest weeks.

It’s difficult to quantify the impact of this winter’s cold. But this is a prime example of something unexpected affecting a wide swath of people. And unfortunately, its impact likely had a greater strain on the less fortunate.

Thanks for hanging in there, Topeka.

Relief came a day earlier than expected and was much welcome. While boiling our water was certainly an inconvenience, in the grand scheme of things, it also made us appreciate the amenities of modern life. Having to do this one extra thing wasn’t ideal, but it could have been worse. Remember that. Be thankful for that.

We’d like to thank the city and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for their quick actions. They likely saved people from getting severely ill.

The last thing we need during this weather event was an additional stress of a public health crisis.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topekans pulled together in getting through drinking water crisis