WARNER SPRINGS ---- Water from the Los Tules Mutual Water Company in Warner Springs tested positive for total coliform bacteria, and area residents are urged to boil all water until further notice, said Mark McPherson, Chief of the Land and Water Quality Division at the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health.

Regulators discovered this morning that the small water system, which serves about 100 residents, tested positive for the bacteria.

Since total coliform bacteria appears in soil, surface water and animal waste, it is considered a good indicator of possible pathogens in the water. The Los Tules water system, however, did not test positive for E. coli, a bacteria harmful to humans usually found in feces.

The company is currently disinfecting the water system, McPherson said, which should take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours. Until then, residents must heat their water for at least one minute at a rolling boil before drinking it.

The cause of the contamination has not yet been determined, although it probably came from a broken pipe or an improperly disinfected pipe in the system's new well, McPherson said.

For more information on the boil water order, please contact Joe Coxsey, certified operator at (760) 782-9946.