Bushnell Water In The Clear By Klark Byrd kbyrd@suntelegraph.com BUSHNELL - The village of Bushnell is reporting some good news this week concerning the discovery of e-coli in the water supply nearly two weeks ago. The news: The water is once again consumable. City officials said six out of six samples sent to the Nebraska Health and Human Services Department Sept. 2 tested negative for the bacteria. Residents of this rural town were told last week by the Kimball County Sheriff’s Office that they would need to boil their water before drinking it. This was immediately after notification from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services that it had discovered e-coli in a water sample taken Aug. 26 from the village. “We’ve received report from Bushnell that the boil order was lifted at 1:42 p.m. Sept. 3,” said Linda Williams, a dispatcher with KCSO. But the source of the contamination that led to that boil order remains unknown. “We have five sampling locations around town and one at the supply well being produced,” said Rick Dickinson, village employee. “The samples should give a good representation of the entire system. We’re hoping that it’s not the aquifer. The water movement comes from the north. That’s where Albin and the pig farms are.” The e-coli was found in a water sample taken Aug. 26, and the KCSO quickly alerted Bushnell residents to the danger of drinking the water by distributing flyers and making phone calls. Village clerk Shirley Johnson said no e-coli illnesses have been reported. Dickinson said the water was treated with chlorine and fresh samples were sent in to the NHHS department. Suspicions were that a fire hydrant had been tampered with after the lid was found laying beside it on three different days by a village employee. A three-inch piece of hose had also been discovered nearby. E-coli can contaminate water supplies through fecal transmission or sewage contamination. It can be found in raw or lightly-cooked meat, raw spinach and produce. There have been several outbreaks of e-coli in the U.S. recently, including a recall on spinach and tomatoes. E-coli can cause abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. - Don Sharp contributed to this report.