The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has issued a boil water advisory for the City of Sharon in Barber County on Tuesday. An advisory issued Monday for the city of Pretty Prairie in Reno County remains in effect.

The advisories will be in effect until further notice.  Health officials issued the advisory in Sharon because of a loss of pressure, while a water main break is to blame for the Pretty Prairie advisory. Both incidents raised the risk for bacterial contamination.

Residents of Sharon and Pretty Prairie are urged to take precautions:

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

Testing will be done to determine if there is contamination in the systems.