HORICON — A popular roadside spring water source that has been used by people around northern Warren County for decades has been closed after tests showed the presence for a potentially deadly bacteria.
The "watering tub" on county Route 53 has been shut after state water tests detected the presence of E. coli bacteria earlier this fall.
Horicon Supervisor Matt Simpson said the town had previously posted signs warning those who use the water that it was not "potable" after coliform bacteria was noted earlier this year.
The line from the spring was cleaned afterward, but abnormal bacteria counts continued to plague it.
In light of the E. coli discovery, the town has removed the spigot and redirected the water flow underground, where it eventually flows into the nearby Schroon River.
"I’m taking a lot of heat for it, but we had no choice," Simpson said.
"It is sad, the ninny nannies in NY State are ruining it for all of us by ‘protecting’ us," the page’s administrator wrote in a recent post.
The town was having the water tested by the state Department of Health once a month, because of its regular use by the public.
But it’s unclear how the spring was becoming contaminated.
The spring is on property owned by the Schroon Lake Park District, Simpson said.