By MAYAN PAZ
Tiger Media Network
After two water main breaks in Hays earlier this week, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a Boil Water Advisory on Tuesday that continued until this morning when the advisory was rescinded. The advisory had some on-campus FHSU students finding themselves dealing with a water shortage.
While shower waters were considered safe, the main issue students had was the lack of drinking water.
For Jacob, a senior living in the Stadium Place apartments, the kitchen accommodations of the Stadium Place dorms were a place for him to boil his water, making it safe to drink.
“I was just taking water from the tap, boiling it, letting it sit for a minute, and drinking it. It was perfectly fine,” he said.
However, not all residence halls on campus had the option of an inside apartment kitchen, and students in McMindes and Tiger Village had to find different solutions.
Everett, a freshman living at Tiger Village, said vending machines were the first place he went to to make sure he had water immediately. Later, he was lucky enough to find a water of bottle at a professor’s office, which he rationed through the day.
On the second day of the boiling advisory, the cafeteria put out water bottles for the students to take for themselves. For Everett and others who didn’t purchase cases of water, it provided enough bottles of water for the students who needed it.
Communal kitchens in McMindes and Tiger Village were also an option, and Everett said if he wanted to, he could have gone to the communal kitchen, found a pot, and boiled some water.
Some students were able to get cases of water from the supermarkets before they ran out. Kylin, a junior, rushed to get a case of water as soon as the boil advisory went public. Not only did she drink the bottled water, but Kylin also preferred to brush her teeth and wash her face with it instead of the potentially contaminated waters from the sink.
While the boil advisory was lifted after only two days, students weren’t in major jeopardy of facing a serious water shortage thanks to assistance of FHSU food services providing additional water along with communal kitchens for boiling water. FHSU students can now return to normal water consumption on campus.