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Tonganoxie family’s natural gas restored following weeks of testing

By Shawn Linenberger - | Sep 29, 2015

A Tonganoxie family’s natural gas service has been restored after several weeks.

Kansas Gas Service restored natural gas Saturday at the home of Scott and Shiela Wogomon in the Jackson Heights subdivision.

Scott Wogomon said via email that service was restored after originally being shut off Aug. 18 following concerns that an unknown gas was permeating through ground beneath the home. The situation also affected two other residences in the area and had neighbors paying close attention to any strange smells of gas in the neighborhood.

On Friday, Tonganoxie City Administrator Nathan McCommon sent out an email to Jackson Heights residences about the situation. In the email, he said the Kansas Department of Health and Environment had completed its investigation into identifying the extent and source of methane gas that Kansas Gas Service found in the subdivision.

“The methane has only been found in the soil and does not pose a public health risk,” McCommon wrote in the letter. “Laboratory analytical results indicate that the methane gas found in the soil at the site is significantly different from the gas in the Kansas Gas Service pipeline.

“The soil gas is consistent with methane gas formed through decay of organic matter in near-surface soils. The data collected by KDHE indicates that the gas found in the Jackson Heights subdivision is most likely from naturally decaying material found in the soil. KDHE has concluded response activities for the Tonganoxie methane site.”

The Wogomons first discovered the smell of gas last month. The leak was addressed, but in the process, Kansas Gas Service officials found a gas foreign to what they provide beneath the soil of the Wogomon home.

Kansas Gas Service had opted not to turn the gas back on at the home until it’s determined what the gas exactly is. That meant the family has remained without gas service for more than a month.

The family initially also was without electricity and for several days KGS covered costs for lodging and food while the company investigated the situation.

Though the company found it safe for the family to utilize electricity, it still was waiting to restore gas services until all tests were completed.