Water Nightmares For San Luis Residents

Its a water nightmare for people living in a small town near Alamosa. Officials said their water isn’t safe to drink. They can’t even use it to wash their hands or bathe.

They’re forced to boil their water because of bacteria.

“Its been an inconvenience,as far as having to bath and stuff like that,” said Franklin Kuhn, a San Luis resident.

It started last Tuesday when the San Luis Water and Sanitation District did its normal monthly water samples.

“One of those test came back positive for bacteria, specifically E. coli,” said Chief Administrator Ben Doon.

The bacteria can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches and other symptoms. They’ve conducted more samples trying to find the source. Luckily, there have been no reports of anyone getting sick.

“The school came back clean, which is on the north end of town. The well, the source of the water, came back clean. Four more bacteria samples came back positive with bacteria. What that indicate to us is there’s a problem in the distribution system somewhere,” said Doon.

How it got there could remain a mystery.

“When you start that chlorine system it sort of erases the fingerprints and footprints of where everything came from,” said Doon.

They’ve started flushing and sanitizing the system. The state also put San Luis under a boil order to prevent anyone from getting sick.

“In the morning we have to boil water to wash our face, brush our teeth or we use bottled water,” said Kuhn.

Several agencies, including the Red Cross, have donated water to the town.

City officials hope the boil order will be lifted by Wednesday.

Residents can pick up water at the fire station.