POINT MUGU : Naval Air Station Water Called Safe

A drinking-water ban imposed Friday on residents and workers at the Point Mugu Naval Air Station was lifted Monday after a follow-up laboratory analysis revealed that the initial tests were faulty in showing high levels of bacteria, authorities said.

“It’s unfortunate that we had to put people through the anxiety, but better to be safe than assume it’s a bad test,” said Ronald J. Dow, chief environmentalist at the Naval Air Station. “We had a lot of worried folks.”

Navy officials warned workers and residents of the 500 houses on base Friday afternoon to boil their water for five minutes before drinking it, washing dishes or cooking with it because tests had shown levels of coliform bacteria in excess of state standards.

Coliform bacteria is found in human and animal feces and can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. A second round of tests completed Monday morning showed acceptable levels of the bacteria, Dow said.

The Naval Air Station draws its water from United Water Conservation District wells in El Rio, and from wells on base. “I had a lump in my throat because we deliver the majority of their water, but our water is absolutely safe,” said Bernie McBride, the district’s operating superintendent.

Alan Jeffrey, lab director of Global Cheochemistry Corp. in Canoga Park, the company contracted to do the independent testing, said a subcontractor handled the initial test. He said the samples could have been inadvertently contaminated “anywhere along the chain, from sampling on the site through the analytic procedure.”