CENTRAL HEIGHTS – School officials were hoping that classes at Central Heights would resume Friday January 8th. The school remained today for the third straight day because of the cold weather. Two issues forced the closures, said Central Heights Supt. Brian Spencer. A power outage Sunday evening shut off the circulation pumps on the heating system, causing some pipes and equipment to freeze, he said. That has been resolved, he said. However, drinking water from some locations in the buildings had a blue tint, he said. Testing revealed the source of the coloring is because of an elevated level of copper. The KDHE believes that there may be some connection between the heating system failure and the water contamination, he said.
Water tests taken Tuesday afternoon after restoring the heating system to working order and flushing the water pipes showed normal readings for copper, he said. However, more water testing had to be done least eight hours after flushing the lines. More samples were collected Wednesday afternoon and sent to a lab. Depending on the test results, school may be back in session Friday, he said.
Thursday, Jan. 4, 11 a.m.
