The City of Kalona has issued a voluntary boil advisory for two areas of town. The city is replacing two damaged fire hydrants located at 831 5th Street and 811 3rd Street, and residents of the 24 homes in the area were notified last Friday of the boil advisory. City Administrator Ryan Schlabaugh said the city had been planning on replacing the hydrants. Twice a year the city flushes all fire hydrants, and they perform a physical assessment on each of them. The two hydrants in question are older and weren’t up to par, one of which is adjacent to Pleasant View so they felt it was a priority.

Schlabaugh added there are two other hydrants that need to be replaced, but the city didn’t feel it could effectively do all four in one day so those will be replaced at a later date. For each hydrant to be replaced, it costs the city approximately $1,600, though they save some money by doing the work themselves. The boil advisory will remain in effect until the city receives two clean samples of water from the affected areas, so it should be lifted Wednesday morning. A boil advisory means it’s recommended to boil any water before consumption, especially with regards to young children and infants.