Los Altos residents cautioned about E. coli in water

LOS ALTOS, Calif. (KGO) -- Many Los Altos residents have been cautioned to boil their water before drinking it after E. coli was found in their drinking water.

California Water Service workers collected their second round of samples in the affected areas. They're testing possible levels of E. coli in the Robleda Heights neighborhoods. They know when the contamination may have happened.

"We had a water main break on Friday morning that we worked for about 12 hours to repair," said Michael Smith of California Water Service.

Sunday night the affected neighborhoods were blanketed with notices on doors and warnings were distributed online.

Moshe Zloof saw his warning when he checked his iPhone messages Monday morning. He wasn't too concerned.

"I normally drink tea, so I boil water anyway you know," Zloof said.

He also boiled up some water for his pets and left it out on the counter to cool so he can give it to them later. A trip to the store will likely be his next step in managing through this days-long event.

"Now I'm boiling water here, but when I go to the store I'll just buy bottles and just use them 'til Wednesday or Thursday, or whenever the E. coli will go away," Zloof said.

His neighbor Sheela Veerina stopped in for lunch at home and to see if everything was OK with her visiting guests. She's keeping an eye on them after news of the contamination.

"My inlaws who are older are with us so it's something to watch for because older people get sick easier," Veerina said.

If anyone does get sick and they suspect it's from tainted water the California Water Service company recommends people to see a doctor and have them report the illness so they can further track the contamination.