Boil water advisory issued for Cass County

CASS COUNTY, Mich. – A boil water advisory has been issued Saturday, November 14th by Keith Moss, operator-in-charge of the Cass County Water System. There have been coliform bacteria detected in the water supply.

Penn Township and Vandalia are the only areas currently being affected by the advisory.

Until further notice, residents and businesses should not drink the water without boiling it first.

This warning comes ad a result of three samples for coliform bacteria taken earlier in the month, with one of the samples showing the bacteria.

According to the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Act, all water should be boiled for one minute and then allowed to cool before use.

Coliform bacteria aren’t necessarily harmful by themselves, but can be used as an indicator that other bacteria may be present.

“Usually, coliforms are a sign that there could be a problem with the treatment or distribution system (pipes). Whenever we detect coliform bacteria in any sample, we do follow-up testing to see if other bacteria of greater concern, such as E. coli, are present. No E. coli has been detected. If E. coli had been detected, we would have notified you immediately. However, we are still finding coliforms in the drinking water,” said Moss.

Continued testing is being done until no bacteria is detected.

According to Moss, they hope to have the problem fixed within two or three days.