Long Beach official: Water infrastructure 'doing its job,' no E. coli found

The E. coli scare in Long Beach has some people questioning the integrity of the city's 100-year-old water infrastructure.
But Public Works Commissioner John Mirando says the "infrastructure is doing its job." He says the E. coli discovery last week was "an isolated incident" and that no E. coli has been in the source water since then.
Mirando says the city followed Nassau County's protocol, flushed the system, raised chlorine and took 30 follow-up samples.
Nassau County Legislator Denise Ford, who represents residents along the western South Shore of Nassau, says she is overly cautious about the water and wants the state to inspect the water system.
Long Beach City Manager Robert Agostisi agrees that the city needs new pipes and says it's possible they caused last week's positive E. coli test.
Mirando says there are plans to replace two aging water tanks with one that will cost $10 million. He says the city has been replacing water, sewer and gas lines on a street-by-street basis. But he says it's a slow and expensive process.
Long Beach civic leader Sam Pinto says residents pay plenty for their water and calls the E. coli incident unacceptable.
The city says all upgrades to drinking water infrastructure are not paid out of collected taxes.