A boil water notice has been lifted for Painted Cave Mutual Water Co. customers, roughly one week after officials said total coliform and E. coli bacteria were detected.

Painted Cave residents were issued a boil water notice last Friday, after the bacteria were found, according to Jason Johnston, director of Santa Barbara County Environmental Health Services.

On Wednesday, Johnston confirmed that no total coliform or E. coli were present after two consecutive water samples tested negative for the bacteria, and the notice was lifted.

The company serves the Painted Cave community. It is operated as a nonprofit mutual water company.

The Painted Cave Mutual Water board told Noozhawk in an email that the bacteria was found during routine testing and that “such events are not uncommon occurrences for all water systems and require corrective action.”

Drinking water with the bacteria in it can make people sick. The bacteria’s presence indicated that the water may have been contaminated with human or animal waste, according to a notice sent out to Painted Cave residents Tuesday.

Contamination can occur when there is a break in the pipes or a failure in the water treatment process, or when run-off enters the drinking water source, the notice added.

The company said it disinfected the primary well, storage tank and distribution system with chlorine.

Johnston added that the Painted Cave Mutual Water’s well pump “failed” earlier this month.

It has been operating on a temporary pump installed about a week ago. The new well pump is expected by early next week, Johnston said.

The company secured domestic water from a nearby public water system and received hauled water to its storage tank, he added.

The company will “continue to monitor its water as required with extra testing in the short term to ensure the quality of the water,” the board said.