Pittsfield under boil-water advisory

In what was labeled a precautionary move, the town of Pittsfield has issued a ‘boil water order’ after officials discovered a loss of water pressure on Monday, which could result in the formation of E. coli bacteria in the Pittsfield water supply.

Christopher Avery, a supervisor for the local bacteria program, said contamination was not detected soon after the pressure decreased, and officials don’t expect testing to reveal that the public is in danger.

Still, the order was issued, just to be safe.

“At this point, we don’t think it’s a big deal,” Avery said. “It sounds like (engineers) are moving quickly and expect (the water pressure) to be fixed very soon.”

Water pressure at its proper level stops contaminants from entering the water supply, and a loss of pressure could conceivably allow something harmful to enter.

Bottled water does not need to be boiled, Avery said, but tap water does. The order will be lifted only after two consecutive sets of three samples taken at least 24 hours apart.