Windham Center Elementary School will be closed until at least Sept. 2 after test results confirmed that the water supply is contaminated with bacteria,
The district tests the water about four times a year, according to Patricia Garcia, superintendent of schools.
On Monday, preliminary tests indicated the presence of bacteria in the water, and the first thought was it could possibly be E. coli, Garcia said.
Health officials immediately collected another sample and sent it to the lab for testing. Results were not available until Tuesday night, but Kerry Markie, communications specialist for the Windham Public Schools, said the results affirmed that some sort of bacteria is in the school's water supply. However, the results didn't say what type of bacteria it is, but further testing should provide an answer by tomorrow.
Windham Center School had already cancelled class for Wednesday, and with the positive results Markie said classes will not resume until at least next week.
On Tuesday, Garcia said all students and staff took precautions at school.
"Like drinking bottled water and hand-washing stations and preparation of food that didn't include water," she said.
There haven't been any reports of sickness, according to Markie.
Abbie Makara, a second-grader at the school, was sad to hear school is cancelled for a while.
"I like my teacher," she said.
But the 6-year-old also said she understands what's going on.
"There's germs in the water," she said. "They could make you sick."
Garcia said school officials will now focus on having the water system sanitized. They'll also try to pinpoint the source of contamination.
The school's water comes from a well, Garcia said.