State warns public to avoid Kansas River, Tuttle Creek Lake after livestock wastewater spill

State health officials are warning residents and their pets to stay out of a vast stretch of northeastern Kansas waterways — including Tuttle Creek Lake and the Kansas River — following a wastewater discharge from a large livestock facility.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a stream advisory Wednesday for McIntyre Creek in Pottawatomie County before quickly expanding it to cover the Big Blue River below the dam, the River Pond and the Kansas River.

The warning spans from the Kansas River's confluence with the Big Blue in Manhattan downstream to the Delaware River confluence near Perry, a stretch that flows directly past Topeka. The agency said it will lift the advisory once testing shows the water is safe for human and animal contact.

Bacteria levels are expected to remain elevated in the coming days because of high river flows lingering from the remnants of Hurricane Polo. The storm dumped more than 6 inches of rain across parts of the state last week and prompted Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, to declare a disaster emergency.

While the unnamed confined animal feeding operation has not caused any reported fish kills, the discharge affects communities that rely on the Kansas River for drinking water. KDHE notified downstream public water systems, advising that standard processes can successfully treat the bacteria.

Topeka officials are actively monitoring the river and stand ready to adjust water treatment protocols, including raising chlorine levels, if necessary to protect the city's drinking water supply.

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