Mount Olive residents urged to boil water after E. Coli detected

William Westhoven, Morristown Daily Record

Residents of several Mount Olive neighborhoods were under a boil-water advisory Tuesday after E. coli bacteria was detected in two local water sources.

"Do not drink the water without boiling it first" the township warned in an all-caps message on the municipal website. "The water department is working toward identifying any sanitary defect that may have caused the problem, flushing the system, and re-sampling the distribution system."

The township also will have potable water available during the advisory outside of the Senior Center at 204 Flanders-Drakestown Road. Residents are asked to bring their own reusable bottles.

An open-ended boiled-water advisory is in effect beginning June 4, 2018, in Netcong during an extended water infrastructure project.
An open-ended boiled-water advisory is in effect beginning June 4, 2018, in Netcong during an extended water infrastructure project.

On Tuesday morning, Mayor Joe Nicastro took to Facebook with a video update that the advisory would continue at least until tomorrow.

"Samples were sent out again today. We will have the results hopefully by tomorrow," Nicastro said. "In the meantime, boil the water, just in case of any issues."

The advisory was issued Monday after results were obtained from routine water samples taken on Wednesday and again on Friday.

What is E. Coli?

Two of nine samples from two municipal systems, the Main and Village Green water systems, tested positive for E.coli, a bacteria that can indicate fecal contamination.

"That can be for multiple reasons," Nicastro said of the results. "One can be rain runoff that had animal feces. It could be a lab error. But we want people to take precautions."

"E. coli are microbes whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes," the township advisory explains. "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."

Potential sources of E. coli contamination could include a break in distribution pipes or a failure in the water treatment process, the advisory added.

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Who's covered by Mount Olive boil water advisory?

The Mount Olive water and sewer department owns, operates and maintains 10 municipal water systems with approximately 4,700 service connections in a town with almost 29,000 residents.

The township also owns and operates the Cloverhill and Wyndham Pointe wastewater treatment facilities in the Flanders neighborhood as well as three individual sanitary sewer collection systems located in the Flanders and Budd Lake areas. The department is responsible for maintaining the infrastructures as well as installing and servicing water meters.

The affected areas under the boil-water advisory are as follows:

Main Water System

  • Cloverhill Development & Sutton Park

  • Flanders Crossing

  • Mount Olive Manor

  • Regency at Flanders & Marveland Crescent Development

  • Overlook Apartments

  • Main Street & Park Place

  • Mountain Avenue

  • Laurel Drive

  • Chestnut Way and Red Maple Lane

Village Green Water System

  • Village Green Apartments & Stores

  • Mountain Ridge Development

  • Lucas Lane, Old Budd Lake Road, & Ringenbach Lane

What does a boil water advisory mean?

Mount Olive gave these instructions:

  • Do not drink water without boiling it first.

  • Bring all water to a rolling boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.

  • If you experience any symptoms and they persist, you may want to seek medical advice. People at increased risk should seek advice from their healthcare providers about drinking the water.

Residents were asked to share this information with their neighbors.

William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com

Twitter/X: @wwesthoven

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Mount Olive boil water advisory issued after E. Coli detected

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