Ephrata city water tests are clear of bacteria

EPHRATA — Ephrata residents and businesses don’t need to boil their water anymore.

The city and state Department of Health asked people in the area to boil water last Friday after potentially harmful bacteria was found in the system. Sixteen samples sent in Monday tested negative for any bacteria.

Routine tests on Wednesday afternoon showed a single occurrence of Escherichia coli bacteria, commonly known as E. coli. A second test of the same water came back negative on Friday morning, City Administrator Wes Crago said. After receiving the positive result, the city tested the water at two of the city’s seven wells.

The two events led the state and the city to issue the advisory, Crago said.

The investigation into well 6 continues, Crago said. City and state officials suspect the well is the source for the non-acute coliform bacteria in the water supply.

The well is disconnected from the city’s system. Gray and Osborne, an engineering firm, are looking for a solution to the possible contamination with a report expected in two weeks.

“Well 6 will not be in service in the foreseeable future,” he said. “We have a lot of redundancy in our water system.”

Crago said the city along with the other agencies involved with the advisory are planning to discuss the incident next week.

“We want to dissect every aspect of this event and see what we can do better,” he said. “The primary goal is to prevent this from happening in the first place.”

Neither the state nor the Grant County Health District received reports of any illnesses related to the water.

“We’re pleased with the city’s quick response to this situation,” said Denise Clifford, director of the Office of Drinking Water. “Getting the word out about health advisories quickly and effectively is a key to protecting the public’s health when things like this happen.”