By Roger McKinney
Globe Staff Writer
COLUMBUS, Kan. —
There were some bottles of flavored water and Perrier remaining on the shelves about noon Monday at the Apple Market grocery store.
A sign taped to the shelves read: “We will have more water later today! Thank you, Mgmt.”
“It looked like black Friday this morning,” said Sam Sloniker, store manager. He said customers were lined up outside waiting for the store to open. He said additional shipments were expected to arrive soon.
A water outage in Columbus, caused by a lightning strike at the city water tower, prompted the run on bottled water.
Police Chief Chuck Sharp said lightning struck the water tower in the city park around 1:30 or 2 a.m. Monday, blasting the water line out of the ground and shorting out a water pump. He said it probably would take at least 24 hours to repair the damage, and after that, a boil water advisory would be in place.
He said residents will need to rely on bottled water for drinking until the repairs are made and water can flow again.
City Superintendent Jim Burton said Monday afternoon that the main waterline had been repaired and water was being pumped. He said full water pressure should be restored by about 8 a.m. today, but that the boil water advisory for drinking water would remain in effect until test results could be reviewed.
Closures
The water outage resulted in the closure of City Hall, the Cherokee County Courthouse and Columbus schools.
