E. coli, coliform bacteria contamination reason to blame for Kamas City water boil order - KUTV 2News

E. coli, coliform bacteria contamination reason to blame for Kamas City water boil order | KUTV

KAMAS, Utah (KUTV) — The detection of E. coli bacteria and Total Coliform in the Kamas water supply led city officials to issue the boil order in place until further notice.

The order--issued around 7 a.m. Saturday--merely pointed to "unsafe water" as the danger. By Saturday night, officials had followed-up, clarifying that a water sample taken within the system came back E. coli positive on Thursday, May 25, while another showed positive for Total Coliform on Friday, May 26.

Kamas City officials said that they are working with the Division of Drinking Water and Summit County Health Department to fix the issue that has occurred.

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"We take your health and the quality of our drinking water very seriously and we need to inform each of you of the situation... We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience," officials said in a statement.

According to the National Institute of Health, bacterial contamination of tap water occurs when human or animal fecal matter gets into the water supply. This can occur from a cross contamination of water lines, a pipe break or a failure in the water treatment process.

The following corrective actions are being taken to mitigate the situation in Kamas:

Until the situation is repaired, city residents and businesses have been advised to bring tap water to a rolling boil for a minimum of three minutes prior to drinking, cooking, bathing or cleaning with it.