The Onondaga County Health Department issued a water advisory for the southeast side of Syracuse Thursday, after a routine sampling of the city’s water supply found traces of E. coli bacteria.

The advisory asked that all residents living in the affected area boil their water before using it for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth or washing fruits and vegetables, said Gary Sauda, director of environmental health for Onondaga County. Sauda also suggested using bottled water whenever possible.

The southeast side of Syracuse includes much of the Syracuse University area, including South Campus. SU workers responded as soon as they could by delivering water bottles to all residence halls, dining halls, gyms and other recreation areas, said Kevin Morrow, director of SU News Services.

The university experienced a similar situation more than a year ago when algae was found in the city’s water, Morrow said.

‘In a way, we were fortunate to have gone through a similar experience,’ Morrow said. ‘We already had a blueprint to follow.’

The university already had water bottles in storage in case of emergency, Morrow said.

SU News Services sent an e-mail notification to the 24,000 SU students, faculty and staff about the advisory, Morrow said. Fliers were also distributed around campus.

SU officials learned of the advisory around 2 p.m. Thursday, shortly before the advisory was released, Morrow said. The Health Department contacted SU to make sure SU Food Services was the first to know about the warning, Sauda said.

Dining halls made adjustments for the E. coli warning by shutting down soda fountain machines and offering bottled drinks to students. Alliy Reynolds, a sophomore architecture major, was eating in Shaw dining hall Thursday night, drinking from a glass of water from a water cooler placed in the eating area.

‘I think this is going to be inconvenient, of course, but not anything to worry about,’ Reynolds said.

The Health Department is unsure what caused the E. coli bacteria to enter the city’s water, Sauda said, but the advisory will be lifted once two consecutive tests show no traces of it.

‘It was an obvious interruption in treatment,’ Sauda said. ‘In this particular case, we may never know what caused this.’

E. coli bacteria present in the water could indicate a contamination by animal or human waste, according to the advisory issued by the Health Department. It can cause symptoms such as diarrhea, cramps, nausea and headaches. Infants, young children, the elderly and people with weak immune systems are at the most risk of infection by E. coli, the advisory stated.

Published on October 12, 2005 at 12:00 pm