As of early evening on July 16, water on the Elon campus and in the surrounding community has been determined to be safe for all uses.
The City of Burlington has announced that the Boil Water Advisory has been lifted. This applies to the water systems in the towns of Elon and Gibsonville and other local communities, as well as all main campus university facilities. According to the release from the City (available online here), “Water is safe to consume, to bathe in, to cook with, to wash dishes with, and to give to pets without flushing water lines or taking any additional measures. Tests on water samples have come back clean. No E. coli is present in the City’s water distribution system.”
Out of an abundance of caution, the Facilities Maintenance department at Elon University will be flushing all water lines on campus this evening through early tomorrow morning.
It may also be some time before local businesses and restaurants return to full operations, as they complete the steps required by the Alamance County Health Department.
According to the City, the E. coli contamination appears to have been isolated to a single pipe connected to an outdoor spigot at a downtown Burlington apartment building. E. coli was not found in any other sampling location other than this spigot. State and federal regulations required a boil water notice while further testing was conducted by the City of Burlington.
For additional information on this situation, visit the City of Burlington website: https://burlingtonnc.gov/water