Boil water advisory lifted in Portland, Oregon

A boil water advisory issued Saturday after E.Coli was found in one of the city's water reservoirs has been lifted in Portland, Ore., and surrounding towns.

According to the Portland Water Bureau, routine water samples collected Wednesday indicated the presence of E. coli, and a test conducted Friday confirmed contamination.

It's interesting that the boil-water advisory wasn't issued until Saturday. Wonder how many people who get their water from this particular reservoir were sickened by ingestion of the contaminated tap water? Probably quite a few more than during a normal week since people were home for the Thanksgiving holiday and consuming meals and beverages made from the tainted tap water.

Though the Water Bureau notes that E.Coli in water supplies generally doesn't cause serious illness, it's not completely harmless either.

“If there are health effects from drinking water contamination, we expect them to be diarrhea and belly ache,” Dr. Paul Lewis, Deputy Health Officer for Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties said in a press release. “Although we are hopeful that the contaminated water will not affect peoples’ health, diarrhea can be a bigger problem for young children and people who have weakened immune systems. It is also important to note that the E. coli bacteria that is detected on the monitoring test may not be the same as the more notorious E. coli O157:H7, a cause of serious bacterial diarrhea.”

Boil Water Advisory issued in Michigan

Photo by ralph hunden, licensed under Creative Commons

These things are becoming an almost daily occurrence.

Officials in Mesick, Mich., have warned residents to boil tap water before consuming it after coliform bacteria was found in the water. Its detection indicates the likely presence of other harmful bacteria in the community's tap water.