MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — Residents of Murfreesboro were feeling uneasy after receiving notifications regarding a water sample that tested positive for E. coli bacterium last month.
This sent shockwaves through the community, but water authorities have since assured the public that it was a false positive, leaving some residents questioning the reliability of water quality testing procedures.
The unsettling news came in the form of emails and letters distributed to many residents on Thursday, revealing a concerning discovery made in August.
The communication outlined the presence of E. coli, a hazardous bacteria and total coliform, which poses no threat to humans in a drinking water sample.
However, the notification also indicated that more tests conducted at nearby sites did not detect any E. coli, leading water plant manager Alan Cranford to assert that the initial finding was inaccurate.
"It's almost the middle of September, and we're talking about E. Coli. You know, it's just puzzling," said resident Hank Williams.
Water is an essential component of daily life, used for cooking, bathing, playing, and drinking, which is why Williams, like many others, was shocked and worried upon receiving the notification.
"I have a mother who's elderly. She drinks that water. And, you know, her immune system is not what it should be," he said.
The Stones River Water Treatment Plant in Murfreesboro conducted over 110 samples of drinking water last month.
Cranford, the water plant manager, said that the initial positive test result was a false positive and reassured the public that the drinking water remained safe.
"On Aug. 16, a sample at one of the residences was collected. It tested positive for total coliform and E. coli. We did repeat sampling, and that was done at a house upstream of the original site plus a sample downstream of that original site. Both of those samples came back absent, so there was no total coliform. There's no E. coli," Cranford said.
The positive sample was obtained from an outdoor faucet. However, when the faucet inside the home was tested, no E. coli was detected.
Cranford suggested that the outside faucet may have been contaminated due to inadequate cleaning and water running, allowing external factors such as dirt, insects, or spiders to influence the test results.
Despite the city's assurance that there is no immediate threat to the public, concerns linger among residents about the accuracy of subsequent water samples.
"The samples that they're taking after that, how do we know they're accurate? So that's what concerns me," said Williams.
City officials urge anyone with concerns to contact the water treatment plant directly.
