Troops living off-post in the greater Baumholder area are advised to boil their water before drinking it after a test on municipal water supplies detected higher than normal levels of E.coli, officials said.

The cities of Birkenfeld and Sankt Wendel issued the warnings, which apply to a series of communities and villages in the surrounding area, including Baumholder. Residents are advised to boil tap water for five minutes before drinking it.

The garrison’s water supply in Baumhlolder, which runs independently from municipal systems, was unaffected, U.S. Army Europe said in a Thursday advisory.

Andreas Kramer, medical doctor with St. Wendel’s public health office, said on Friday that the advisory would likely remain in effect for the next day or two as more testing is done.

An announcement will be made when the restriction is lifted, he said.

In June, German authorities issued a similar warning about high levels of E.coli in the Baumholder area’s water supply. Subsequent tests came back negative, however, and the advisory was lifted after a matter of days.

At the time, German officials suspected that the contamination happened as a result of heavy rain, which might have caused water to run through farm fields fertilized with manure.

news@stripes.com

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