Water officials seeking source of E. coli

About 100,000 people in seven Nassau County communities had to boil their tap water or buy supplies of the bottled variety Thursday as water district officials searched for the source of E. coli bacteria.

With more tests planned Friday, the Water Authority of Western Nassau County warned that the boil-water advisory issued Wednesday could extend to Saturday or later.

The sample that set off the alarm was itself raising questions late Thursday, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the health warning. The district's chief engineer said he wasn't sure the bacteria in the sample had come from the water supply or another source.

The district told residents of North Valley Stream, Elmont, Floral Park, Franklin Square, New Hyde Park, Stewart Manor and Garden City to boil their tap water and toss out ice cubes after routine tests earlier this week indicated the presence of E. coli and other coliform bacteria.

Infection from E. coli or coliform bacteria can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches or other symptoms. They may pose a severe health risk and potentially be lethal for infants, young children and others, including the elderly, with severely compromised immune systems.

The Nassau County Department of Health has not received any reports of infection.

While the district said it got the word out quickly, some residents and business owners complained about being left in the dark.

Xenis Thoma, owner of the New Hyde Park Diner, said he found out about the directive when he started to serve tap water to his morning customers.

"The customers said we can't use the water, that we have to buy bottled water," he said.

The first tainted sample was collected Monday in North Valley Stream from a restaurant faucet, said Robert Swartz, the water district's chief engineer.

It tested positive for E. coli Tuesday, prompting the water district and the county Health Department to collect more samples.

Those samples tested negative for E. coli on Wednesday but indicated the presence of total coliform bacteria, which "include bacteria that are found in the soil, in water that has been influenced by surface water, and in human or animal waste," according to the state Department of Health website.

"We are pretty much sure it was something in the air there that contaminated it [the sample]," Swartz said, meaning the bacteria may have been present in the restaurant itself. "We're not sure now if it ever got into the water supply."

Swartz declined to give the name of the eatery where the first sample was collected. Information on the exact strain of E. coli won't be available until next week, he said.

More than 30 water district workers began going door-to-door to notify customers at 7 p.m. Wednesday and started again at 5 a.m. Thursday.

"We try to notify everybody," Swartz said. "There might be one or two people who fall through the cracks."

Mary Ellen Laurain, spokeswoman for the Nassau County health department, said the state sanitary code requires the water district to produce two days of negative sampling before lifting restrictions on water use. The water district collected 42 more samples Thursday and will get those results back Friday.

With Hugo Kugiya and Candice Rudd