Long Beach E. coli water investigation

LONG BEACH, N.Y. (FOX 5 NY) - About one month after a Long Beach water sample tested positive for E. coli, triggering a three-day boil water order, many residents are still skeptical about whether the water is safe to drink.

Elected officials and experts from the state and county health departments publicly addressed those concerns at a community forum at City Hall Wednesday night.

"E. coli just doesn't happen. It was a very scary thing to have to not drink the water and have bottled water be trucked in, and then all of a sudden one day it's over, it's fine," said state Sen. Todd Kaminsky, one of the forum's sponsors.

Water engineers have since flushed out the entire system with chlorine. Residents have added the strong smell and side effects of those chemicals to their long list of complaints.

Nevertheless, city officials insist the water is safe to drink. In fact, the Department of Public Works told FOX 5 NY that it just got the green light to lower chlorine levels in the water distribution system.

"We've looked at the system now, we've had the health department look at the system, and there are some recommendations and things we're going to do to make sure this doesn't happen again," Public Works Commissioner John Mirando said.

The source of the contamination is still unclear. And due to the isolation of the incident, experts have said they might not be able to pinpoint exactly where it came from.