Boil water order issued for cities of Bennet and Panama

BENNET, Neb. (KOLN) — Lancaster County Rural Water District No. 1 has issued a boil water order affecting the city of Bennet and its customers.

According to a poster posted to their website on Friday, district officials said they detected E. coli bacteria in November, indicating the need to look for potential problems in water treatment or distribution.

Officials are currently chlorinating the system and re-sampling in order to fix the issue.

E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes. Human pathogens in these wastes can cause short term effects, such as diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms. They may pose a greater health risk for infants, young children, some of the elderly, and people with severely compromised immune systems.

During this time, residents are advised not to drink the water without boiling it first. Officials ask residents to boil water for one minute, and let cool before using. Likewise, residents can use bottled water.

Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation until further notice.

LRWD expects the issue to be resolved by Nov. 20.

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