E-coli test in Sheldon water a false alarm

Sheldon residents are worried after word about a positive test for E-coli spread through the town, an anonymous caller to the Daily Mail offices said. Responding to questions, Becky Morgan, Sheldon city clerk, said that there was a test that came back positive, but that it was one test out of many that came back negative and re-testing did not find any positive results.

"It could be because of cross-contamination of the sample," Morgan said. "The test that came back positive was the only one, we took several that day. They re-tested Monday and all the tests were negative."

Well water is rarely a source of E-coli or fecal coliform bacteria and treating it with chlorine is one way to prevent contamination from other sources. The pressure water is under also protects it from contamination, in a small leak the water will push out from the pipe and no contaminant can enter.