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May 24th, 2014 
David Schulberg the 3rd (by Cornelius Swart, KGW.com Staff) — PORTLAND, OR — The Portland Water Bureau issued a ‘boil water alert’ Friday morning for the entire water district after the city detected E. coli in water samples.
More: Map to the affected areas
At a press conference at noon Friday, Water Bureau Director David Shaff said this was the largest boil water alert in the city’s history, impacting some 670,000 water users.
The source of the contamination was Mount Tabor reservoirs 1 and 5. The alert includes the city of Portland, but also the cities of Tigard, King City, parts of Gresham and other districts (see below for full list.)
“Until further notice, all Portland Water Bureau customers and those in the affected areas should boil all tap water used for drinking, food preparation, tooth brushing and ice for at least one minute. Ice or any beverages prepared with un-boiled tap water on or after May 20 should be discarded,” the alert reads.
More: City scrambles after Boil Water Alert
“In three separate incidents from May 20 to May 23, repeat water samples confirmed the presence of total coliform and E. coli in routine drinking water samples,” Shaff said.
Tri-County Health Officer Dr. Paul Lewis said the E. coli came from animal fecal matter. The most likely symptom from people drinking contaminated water would be diarrhea. Lewis said that he did not believe many people would be impacted.
Officials believed that the issue would be cleared up in 24 hours.
“I have every expectation that we will issue an ‘all clear’ tomorrow,” Shaff said in a the press conference.
Keep reading via King 5 News…
Source Article from http://www.redflagnews.com/headlines/urgent-portland-issues-largest-boil-water-alert-ever-for-ecoli-some-670000-residents-affected
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