How Is Water Tested For E. Coli?
Municipal water systems in Pennsylvania are required to submit monthly test samples to the Department of Environmental Protection. The Elizabethtown and Mount Joy Township water authorities submitted a sample Friday that tested positive for coliform bacteria. Those results prompted additional tests. “Once we get positive samples, we must then take three samples and test for E. coli,” said Lauri Lebo, of the DEP. “In this case, all three samples came back positive.” The Elizabethtown Water Authority said it then issued a boil-water advisory as required by the DEP. That advisory can be lifted after two full days of testing negative for E. coli.
