Residents of Hugo, Colorado can resume drinking their tap water. That’s the verdict after fears that the town’s municipal water supply had been contaminated with THC, the main psychoactive chemical in marijuana. After additional testing by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, no trace of the chemical was found.
Officials began testing Hugo’s water after a local company had conducted their own test following a round of drug testing with its employees. Faced with inconsistent results, the company tested a vial of tap water, which turned up positive. This led to a wider investigation and testing of the city’s water, leading authorities believe that at least one of the wells had been sabotaged.
The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office used field testing kits to test the water supply, and found that six out of the 10 samples were positive for the chemical. Based on additional testing, the Sheriff’s office found that they were false positives, and lifted the water alert for the town.
#HugosWater CBI Scientists have concluded water samples are NEG for THC. Believed that test kit were false +. Water advisory is cancelled!!!
— Lincoln County S.O. (@LincolnCountySO) July 23, 2016
While the drinking and cooking ban has been lifted, the Sheriff’s office is continuing to investigate one of the town’s wells, which appear to have been tampered with.