Boil water.. say what?

Boil Alert for Greenville. Boil alert? Say what? I've heard of smoke alert, storm alert, traffic alert but never a "boil alert". I received a forward informing me, "Greenville Utilities Water is Contaminated with Fecal Coliform. Boil Your Water Before Using." I was skeptical and went directly to the Greenville Utilities site to check out the forward's credibility.

And there it was.. "Fecal coliform bacteria were found in the water supply today, June 25, 2008. These bacteria can make you sick... "

You have got to be joking me. Should I mention I received the email at 1pm, and that I make a point of staying hydrated? The contamination was discovered at 6am this morning; by that time I had already consumed approximately 2 glasses of fecal water. Not to mention brushing my teeth, and taking a shower. By 1pm I had ingested an estimated 10 glasses of water.

When I arrived on campus for my 2pm final everyone was freaking out. Yes, freaking out. Signs were posted with scotch tape on every surface; classroom doors, bathroom stalls, random trees. Students were calling everyone they knew on their cell phones, "Sally.. like.. don't drink that water.. like it's full of.." "Billy.. hey man.. did you hear?"

Oh yeah. People were soaking up this drama, the media included. Supposedly officials were/are shutting down restaurants, and monitoring ER admissions closely.

Meanwhile I have been trying to determine whether my current state of nausea was brought on by the mayhem or the 10 glasses of fecal water pulsing through my body. The rational side of me knows that humans ingest fecal particles on a daily basis via hand to mouth transmission, and this really isn't a big deal. The other side of me swears her body is "fecally" saturated.

So while my inner battle rages on, I will follow orders by boiling all desired water for the next 48 hours, leave dishes in my sink, and resist showering. Bottled water anyone?