Cate Gillon/Getty Images SISTERS, Ore. – Nearly 600 homes in an unincorporated area north of Sisters are under a boil-water advisory after the area’s water company found E. coli and total coliform bacteria in water samples taken late last week, officials said.
The boil-water notice was sent to Indian Meadow Water Co. customers after monthly routine water samples taken last Thursday and Friday tested positive for E. coli and coliform bacteria the first day, and only for the total coliform the next day, Lynn Lounsbury said in the notice.
The Oregon Health Authority considers any confirmed E. coli positive sample as a public health hazard and violation of drinking water standards requiring notification of customers.
The water company said the contamination, likely from animals, is coming from either its reservoir or one of its three wells.
New samples to be taken Monday will help clarify the contamination source and help determine where and what treatment process is needed.
Water company board member Earl Liverman said if the results come back positive on Tuesday, chlorine would be used to clear the affected well or reservoir, then a repeat test will be performed.
The water company hopes the boil-water notice can be lifted by mid-week or late in the coming week.