Residents Urged To Boil Foul Water

Health officials are urging residents here to boil their drinking water after a test found fecal contamination in the city’s domestic water system.

The source of the contamination is not known, although the levels of fecal coliform bacteria are not considered high, Yakima Health District Officer Dr. Robert Atwood said.

No illnesses have been reported, Atwood said, but a monitoring program was being set up when the warning went out on Thursday.

An ongoing gastrointestinal bug with symptoms similar to illnesses caused by contaminated water has been complicating the monitoring.

The city’s water system serves about 1,000 people in 325 businesses, homes and apartments. Naches’ population is 685.

It’s not clear if the contamination came from human or animal feces.