City officials say no contamination of city water supply

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Officials from the city of Hays are on the site of a leak in a forced sewer main line near the intersection of West 27th and the U.S. 183 Bypass.

The location is alongside Big Creek. The sewer line is buried underneath the creek.

According to Jeff Crispin, water resources director, he called the Kansas Department of Health and Environment after-hours emergency number Wednesday night as required.

Darrell Shippy, of the Northwest Kansas KDHE Water Supply and Wastewater Unit in Hays, was at the site Thursday morning for a short time, Crispin noted, as work got underway to locate the leak.

Crispin says a farmer contacted the city late Wednesday afternoon when he noticed water coming from the side of the bank of Big Creek.

City staff confirmed the water influx and immediately shut down the sewer line and the nearby lift station that serves that line.

“We notified KDHE last night,” Crispin said late Thursday morning. “We want to ensure public safety first. We’re working with them to see if something moves towards the public stream flow [of Big Creek].”

There is no contamination of the city water supply, he added, nor is there any interruption of water or sewer service to city customers.

“A local contractor is currently digging to find the line. It seems there’s been a break,” Crispin said. “Once we find it, we’ll do a temporary fix and then a permanent replacement of the line.”

City Department of Water Resources employees are now manually pumping the sewer line contents into trucks as needed and transporting it to the city wastewater treatment plant.

Check Hays Post for more as details become available.