(KAIR)--A Boil Water Advisory is issued for the City of Effingham, in Atchison, County.

The advisory was issued Tuesday by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for issues, the agency says, are “not related to COVID-19.”

Instead, a release from KDHE explains that the advisory was issued “because of unknown water quality in the distribution system due to a power outage.”

The release notes that the advisory will remain in effect “until the conditions that placed the system at risk of bacterial contamination are resolved.”

Among the precautions to be followed by water customers affected by the advisory is to boil water for one minute prior to drinking or food preparation or use bottled water.

Editor's note: the original KDHE release follows: 

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has issued a boil water advisory for the City of Effingham public water supply system located in Atchison County. This advisory is not related to Covid-19.

Customers should observe the following precautions until further notice:

• If your tap water appears dirty, flush the water lines by letting the water run until it clears.

• 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.

• 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.

The advisory took effect on March 29 and will remain in effect until the conditions that placed the system at risk of bacterial contamination are resolved. KDHE officials issued the advisory because of unknown water quality in the distribution system due to a power outage.

Regardless of whether the public water supplier or Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) announced a boil water advisory, only KDHE can issue the rescind order following testing at a certified laboratory.

For consumer questions, please contact the water system, or KDHE at 785-296-5514. For consumer information please visit KDHE’s PWS Consumer Information webpage:

kdhe.ks.gov/waterdisruption

Restaurants and other food establishments that have questions about the impact of the boil water advisory on their business can contact the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s food safety & lodging program at  kda.fsl@ks.gov or call 785-564-6767.