MURFREESBORO – Saturday afternoon, officials from the Town of Murfreesboro received ‘good news’ from NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) that water samples taken from various locations over a period of three consecutive dayswere found to be free of coliform bacteria after being analyzed by the NC State Laboratory of Public Health.

The ‘boil water notice’ issued November 13, has been rescinded based on test results, &uot;the continued presence of adequate disinfectant residuals, and the maintenance of consistent pressure throughout the system.&uot;

According to Christine Miller, Public Media Liason with the NC Division of Environmental Health, results from more than 20 water samples collected Wednesday and Thursday evening and Friday morning all tested absent from total coliform.

The water, which initially tested positive for the acute bacteria, Fecal E. coli on November 12, showed no presence at all upon completion of the various testing performed by state and other cooperating agencies.

&uot;Total coliform is considered an indicator organism for the presence of other potentially harmful contaminants,&uot; said Miller.

&uot;The state requires that towns test at least once per month,&uot; she continued. &uot;The number of times a water system is tested is dependent upon its population. Murfreesboro, I believe is tested five times per month. When water testing indicates E.coli is present, results do not show a particular level, the bacteria is either present or absent. On November 12, the bacteria was present, but all subsequent tests performed came back negative of the bacteria completely. Substantial test results have now indicated that the water is safe to drink.

&uot;We don’t yet know, and may never know exactly what the cause of the problem was, but investigation into that matter will continue. We will proceed to work with the water supply systems to ensure safe and healthy drinking water supply.&uot;

Miller offered praise to Murfreesboro town officials for properly handling the situation stating, &uot;The Town of Murfreesboro was very proactive in handling the situation in a timely and professional manner. The state mandates that in a circumstance, such as this, water recipients be notified within a 24-hour period and the town was very proactive in their approach. They contacted the Murfreesboro Police Department and began going door-to-door handing out notices to the community as soon as possible and managed to do so under the state’s mandated time frame. We were very happy about that because we all want to have safe drinking water. The town did a wonderful job.&uot;

The town also made similar efforts to notify water customers with phone calls to businesses, radio station and television networks when final results from the testing became available.

Town Administrator, Molly Eubank stated that she was happy that they could lay the issue to rest and commented, &uot;The water is safe to drink. According to the Health Department, there were over 20 samples of water taken, none of which came back bad.&uot; Eubank continued, &uot;Water customers may have a tendency to taste or smell a lot of chlorine over the next few days due to the cleansing process, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.&uot;

Residents, businesses and industries served by the town’s water system are encouraged to continue to manage their water usage and consumption and repot any leaks or problems to the Murfreesboro Water Department.