Hew Hallock and Ruth Heide, reporters for the Valley Courier in Alamosa, CO are reporting that it will be "about a week" before state and federal laboratories will be able to tell the town if its water truly was tainted with salmonella.

A single water  test, out of 20 samples taken, was positive for coliform bacterial contamination.  That and the fact that the confirmed cases of salmonella are spread through the town of 9,000 caused state health officials to warn people not to use public water.

The cause of the contamination is not yet determined.  The Valley Courier also reported that:

Alamosa Public Works Director and Acting City Manager Don Koskelin said the salmonella cases were widespread throughout the city and the city’s water supply seemed to be a common denominator in the cases. Health officials are still trying to pinpoint the cause of the salmonella outbreak, however, and Koskelin stressed the city water has not been determined to be the cause.

“Do we know for sure salmonella is in the water? No. Are there indications it could be in the water? Yes,” Koskelin said. “Because the indications are there, we are not going to take any chances … We are going to eliminate the water system as a potential source.”

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