The southern Colorado town will be running increased chlorine through 50 miles of water pipe this week after nearly 70 cases of salmonella poisoning cropped up.

"We're going to introduce large amounts of chlorine into the system to kill the bacteria," Jim Shires, a spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department., told the Rocky Mountain News. "When that happens, people should use water only for flushing toilets. You can't even do a sponge bath."

The plan is to boost the town's water to 25 milligrams of chlorine per liter of water compared to the 1-2 milligrams found in Denver's drinking water.

The News (NYSE:WS-A) said officials at Adams State College were considering sending its students home for a few days while full-time residents are stocking up on bottled water.