E. coli found in sample at Lower Valley well
Published on November 20, 2024
Well taken out of service and will be disinfected
EL PASO – El Paso Water, in compliance with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on routine water sample testing, found that a raw groundwater sample taken from a Lower Valley well tested positive for E. coli on Nov. 19. The sample was taken prior to entering the disinfection process.
EPWater responded immediately by taking the well out of service and disinfecting it on Nov. 20. The well, located on the 900 block of Kessler Drive, serves customers in parts of the Lower Valley and East El Paso.
This type of detection is extremely rare within the EPWater system. The utility has an estimated 157 wells throughout the city and performs monthly tests of every well to assure water quality.
This event does not require a boil water notice, and the water is safe to drink. As a standard practice, the water pumped from this well is chlorinated before it enters the distribution system. EPWater tested chlorine levels at the time of the routine raw water sampling, and levels were within TCEQ guidelines for safe drinking water. The utility is following TCEQ protocol to correct the issue and to provide public notification of information on E. coli as described below.
Important information about your drinking water
E. coli bacteria can make you sick and are a particular concern for infants, young children and people with weakened immune systems.
What should I do? What does this mean?
Fecal indicators are microbes whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes. Microbes in these wastes can cause short-term health effects, such as diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms. They may pose a special health risk for infants, young children, some of the elderly, and people with severely compromised immune systems.
The symptoms above are not only caused by organisms in drinking water. If you experience any of these symptoms and they persist, you may want to seek medical advice. Those with an increased risk should seek advice from their health care providers about drinking this water.
Corrective action: The affected well was immediately taken offline. El Paso Water is in the process of disinfecting this well. When the disinfection process is complete, the well will be sampled to ensure the issue has been resolved.
EPWater anticipates resolving the problem by 11/22/2024. For more information, please contact Richard Wilcox at 915 594-5407 or rawilcox@epwater.org. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
