Water Well Testing Set For Locust Grove

Associated Press

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The state Department of Environmental Quality says it'll test 55 private water wells within five-miles of Locust Grove to ensure the safety of drinking water.

The testing to be done on Wednesday and Thursday comes after Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson's office suggested a deadly E. coli outbreak last summer could've been the result of contamination from poultry farms.

2/13/2009  Related story: DEQ To Sample Locust Grove Private Water Wells

The state Health Department said previously it was unlikely well water caused the outbreak at the Country Cottage restaurant last August. One person died and more than 300 others were sickened.

Edmondson is suing 13 Arkansas poultry companies saying excessive land application of chicken waste in the Illinois River watershed of northeast Oklahoma could be a danger to public health.

A spokesman for Tyson Foods says the company is not aware of any data or studies suggesting that E. coli is commonly found in poultry litter.

Tyson is 1 of the 13 companies named in Edmondson's lawsuit.