HARLAN, Iowa — A boil advisory has been issued for the entire city of Harlan in Shelby County following a water main break, resulting in pressure loss for the entire system. Officials say city crews dealt with multiple main breaks throughout the day on November 20th, and were able to keep the system pressurized before another main break drained the city water towers completely around 11:45 p.m., Wednesday. Repairs are underway. Once repairs have been completed, the system will be refilled, and the affected area will be disinfected and flushed.

Approximately 2700 service connections are affected by the break. City officials are also notifying affected residents via Facebook and radio broadcasts. City officials say there is no reason to believe water quality has been compromised, but as a precaution, customers are encouraged to boil water that will be consumed or used for food preparation. Water should be boiled for two minutes and allowed to cool before use. Water is safe to use for showering, laundry, general washing and outdoor use without boiling.

Bacteria samples will be collected for testing. The boil advisory will be lifted once two consecutive sets of bacterial samples have tested negative for bacteria.

Officials with HMU (Harlan Municipal Utilities) said (as of 11:05-a.m., Thursday), that cases of Water have been donated by Fareway, Hy-Vee and Bomgaars. Water can be picked up at the HMU office at 2412 Southwest Ave until 4:00 pm. Water can be picked up at the Vet’s Auditorium between the hours of 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Limit is 1 case per vehicle/family.