Free bottled water Saturday for Kannapolis residents under E. coli boil advisory
Free bottles of water are available Saturday to Kannapolis residents still under a boil water notice, after contaminants with E. coli bacteria were found in the city’s drinking water.
Bottled water will be given out beginning at 9 a.m. at 1401 Bethpage Road, according to a news release by the city Friday night.
A few areas of the city where water comes from the city of Concord “have now been determined to have safe water, and you may use your water without boiling it effective immediately,” according to the news release.
In a news release earlier Friday, city officials said “the city’s processes of cleaning and treating our drinking water should have eliminated these contaminants with no detrimental issues for the public.
“However, per North Carolina regulations we are informing you that the contaminants were found, and we are flushing and treating all city water to further ensure the contaminants are eliminated. This is believed to be a temporary issue and tests will be done within 24 hours to ensure the water is free of contaminants.”
Water customers are advised to “vigorously” boil water for at least one minute to kill disease-causing organisms. This includes drinking water, water used for brushing teeth, washing for washing dishes and water for food preparation, officials said.
The city anticipates lifting the advisory sometime later Saturday.
“We will distribute a notice when it is safe to stop boiling water,” officials said.
This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 8:23 AM.