Colorado town warns residents of THC in water supply

HUGO, Colo., July 22 (UPI) -- A small Colorado town is warning residents to avoid its tap water after preliminary tests found THC, the chief psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, in a local well.

Further tests will be done, officials said at a Thursday news conference. Authorities were trying to figure out how contaminated the well might be or if the tests were perhaps wrong, since no one has reported becoming ill or impaired.

"We are checking to make sure this isn't because of the field test kit -- that it isn't a false positive," said Capt. Michael Yowell of Lincoln County Sheriff's Office.

Recreational marijuana is legal in Colorado and officials have not been able to determine if it was an intentional contamination, Yowell said.

One of the five wells that supply the 720 people with water showed signs of tampering and has been closed temporarily, but officials said testing has shown all the wells have been been contaminated.