Ashford’s water no longer has E. coli

After multiple tests following an E. coli detection, Ashford’s water is safe to drink again.

“All of our tests came back clear, so we are good to go,” said Steve Miller of the Ashford Water District.

It’s difficult to know what introduced the bacteria to the town’s water supply, which was discovered May 2, Miller said. It likely stems from the district’s most recent repair job.

The district chlorinated its system Saturday, then flushed it Sunday, before taking two sets of water samples to be tested by state Department of Health officials.

Customers were under a boil-water order until the test results came back clean.

Six restaurants were told to cease food preparation until the boil-water order was lifted. The district also has 259 residential customers

“The restaurants are open again, so they’re probably more happy than I am,” Miller said.

This story was originally published May 11, 2016 at 7:16 PM with the headline "Ashford’s water no longer has E. coli."