Nearly 600 people living in a small south Okanagan town have been told their tap water is unfit to drink.
A boil water notice was implemented on Thursday after a routine test came back positive for E. coli.
READ MORE: Hundreds in Okanagan Falls under boil water notice
Ken Peters, Okanagan Falls Irrigation District’s utility and maintenance operator, believes this may have been a false positive.
“The reading for coliform and E. coli was exactly the same,” Peters said. “They’re two different entities, so you can get a different reading. To me it is very unusual to have them both exactly the same.”
Peters added the chlorine reading turned up normal, which also made him believe the results may have been a false positive.
He said this can happen for a number of reasons, including contamination during sample taking or the sample bottle wasn’t properly sealed.
However, CARO, the lab that tests the water samples, said it stands by testing that shows E. coli is in the drinking water.
Interior Health Authority (IHA) also said it has no reason to believe the result was a false positive.
IHA said no one with E. coli-like symptoms have turned up at local hospitals, but said it is possible some people may have come in contact with the bacteria and not know it, or they went to see a family doctor.
The irrigation district said it isn’t taking any chances which is why they are treating the boil water notice seriously.
More water samples were taken on Thursday and Friday. Another test is scheduled for Tuesday.
The tests will help the district determine how long the boil water notice will be in place.
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