February 5, 2012. ZIONVILLE, NC -- Watauga School District (WCS) reports tonight that all additional tests of the water at Mabel School have come back negative for the presence of bacteria. Click READ MORE to read the official statement from WCS.

Official statement from WCS: 

All tests of the water at Mabel (School) have come back negative for bacteria and the school will operate on a normal schedule Monday, February 6th.

The concerns that led to closing the school on Friday were the result of routine water testing at the school. Test results received late Thursday from the Health Department indicated the possible presence of bacteria in water from a kitchen sink. Based on those results, the decision was made to close the school as a precautionary measure pending further tests. There was no information to indicate that the health of students or staff was affected in any way by the water quality at Mabel.

The additional tests that were conducted included a re-test of the original water sample as well as new tests of water samples taken Friday morning from the school well, from the same kitchen sink where the previous test indicated the possible presence of bacteria, and from another interior sink at the school. The Health Department also took additional samples Saturday morning. All test results are now in and all of them – the retest of the original sample, the samples taken Friday a.m. by school maintenance personnel, and the samples taken on Saturday by the Health Department - have come back negative for bacteria.

We regret the inconvenience the closing on Friday caused to students, parents, and school personnel. However, our first priority is always the safety of our students and employees and we chose not to take the risk that there might be a problem with water quality at the school.Thank you for your patience and understanding as we worked to ensure that Mabel remains a safe and healthy place for our young people and those who serve them.

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