Boil water notice lifted for part of Koreatown after E. coli found in water sample

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

The city of Los Angeles lifted a boil water advisory in Koreatown on Thursday afternoon, roughly two days after a water sample tested positive for E. coli.

Multiple restaurants were closed due to the water boil advisory for a two-block radius in the Koreatown neighborhood that impacted both commercial and residents.

The boil water notice covered the area bounded by South Ardmore Avenue to the west, South Mariposa Avenue to the east, West 5th Street to the north and West 6th Street to the south.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said the boil water notice would remain in place until water samples from all testing locations come back clear for two consecutive days.

On Thursday, the utility company lifted the advisory saying the water was safe again to drink.

“We thank our customers for their patience and understanding as we collected, tested and retested our water samples to ensure that our water meets all state and federal drinking water standards,” Jonathan Leung, LADWP’s Director of Water Quality said in a statement. “We are pleased to tell our customers in the two-block affected area that their water is now confirmed safe to drink.”

Crews collected samples from eight locations within the affected area and all but one tested clear, Leung said Thursday morning.

“In order to be able to lift this notice, what we are going to look for are two consecutive days of absolutely everything being clear,” Leung said at the scene prior to the advisory being lifted.

The first tests were taken Tuesday, according to LADWP, and the utility company met their two-day clearance on the water samples. The cause is under investigation, but isolated and did not affect the city’s water system and did not extend beyond the two-block area, officials said.

Businesses at a small plaza on Sixth Street were forced to close on Wednesday.

At Mapo Kkak Doo Gee restaurant, owner Cathy Beak said city officials began posting notices around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Beak was at her restaurant Thursday morning with her husband to cancel orders and send employees home.

“We even had a group order for a hospital. That’s normally a $400-500 order. I also told my employees not to come today and that I’ll be monitoring the situation,” she said.

Beak, who has owned the restaurant for eight years, said officials with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power told her crews were working to restore the water.

She estimated the restaurant lost between $1,000 and $1,500 in revenue Wednesday evening alone and expects additional losses if the business remains closed.

“We’re a small business so this really affects us,” she said.

Leung emphasized that the problem was isolated to the two-block area covered by the advisory.

“I think in this instance, we can reassure everyone that is outside of this two-block community that we have extensive sampling all around this perimeter and other areas,” he said. “There have been no detection of any type of coliform or E. coli bacteria so they should be safe.”

According to Leung, every positive result has come from a single sampling location, while samples collected just a few feet away have tested clear.

For residents outside the two-block area concerned about their drinking water, Leung said LADWP offers free water quality testing by calling their hotline 213-367-3182.

“I don’t know if they’re going to get the same accuracy on a home kit test as we do,” he said. “We offer free testing, so we can come out, assist them and get those free test results from a certified lab.”

Anyone in the affected area should use boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking and cooking until further notice, the utility announced in its advisory. The department delivered bottled drinking water to customers within the affected area while the advisory remains in effect.

Anderson Munger Family YMCA in Koreatown also provided water bottles to the community after news of the advisory spread.

LADWP spokesperson Kimberly Briggs said there are approximately 460 residential customers and a small strip mall affected. In total, there are 33 customer meters.

What should affected residents do?

While additional testing is underway, residents are being asked to bring tap water to a rolling boil for one minute before letting it cool and using it.

The same guidance applies to water used for brushing teeth, making ice, washing fruits and vegetables and preparing food.

Briggs said healthy individuals can still use the water for showering, bathing and washing, as long as they avoid swallowing it.

Briggs added it’s safe to wash hands with tap water for everyday hygiene. Before handling or preparing food, however, hands should be washed with boiled water, bottled water or another safe water source.

Residents should use boiled and then cooled water to wash their dishes. Dishes can also be washed from an another water source, or after washing with “dish detergent rinse for a minute in a dilute bleach (1 teaspoon of unscented bleach for each gallon of warm water),” according to LADWP. “Allow dishes, cutlery, cups, etc. to completely air dry before use.”

The presence of E. coli can be a sign that water has been contaminated by human or animal waste, according to the utility company. That contamination can contain bacteria, viruses or other germs that may cause illnesses such as diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea or headaches. Infants, young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems face the greatest risk of becoming seriously ill.

Anyone experiencing those symptoms should contact a healthcare provider.

LADWP said it will notify customers as soon as follow-up testing confirms the water is safe to drink and the boil water notice can be lifted.

How did the water get contaminated?

LADWP said the bacteria was detected in a routine water sample collected Tuesday.

LADWP officials say they’re still investigating, but they believe the positive E. coli result may have come from contamination at a single water sampling station rather than the water system itself.

The bacteria was found at a water sampling monument across the strip mall on 6th Street — a secured fixture connected to a water main that crews use to routinely collect water samples from around the city.

Officials suspect bacteria from the surrounding environment — such as animal waste near the fixture — may have contaminated the equipment while crews were collecting the sample.

“Maybe something got on the outside and you have to unlock it in the process of collecting samples, so we’re suspecting that something in the environment cross contaminated this,” Leung with LADWP said.

The positive result came from that specific monument, while nearby testing sites have all come back clear, according to officials.

Crews have since sterilized the monument and installed a temporary bypass so they can continue testing the water without using that equipment. If the station is ultimately determined to be the source of the contamination, Leung said, the city will replace it.

Residents with questions can call the LADWP Water Quality Hotline at (213) 367-3182 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday or 800-DIAL-DWP for 24-hour assistance. Updates will also be posted to LADWP.com/WaterQuality.