PHOENIX -- Customers of the White Mountain Lake Water Company are under orders to boil their water before drinking it or using it to cook after tests found the water was contaminated with fecal coli form and E. coli bacteria.

The White Mountain Lake Water Company advised its customers to boil all water for at least one minute before or use bottled water for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and preparing food until further notice.

The water company is trying to determine the source of the contamination, and it said it will chlorinate and flush the water system. It said the problem should be resolved within four days.

Nevertheless, residents of Snowflake and Taylor, Ariz., do not need to worry about their water, officials from the two towns said. According to a news release from Taylor officials, the White Mountain Lake Water Company and Town of Taylor water systems are separate.

Bacterial contamination can occur when increased runoff enters the distribution system, or when the water treatment process fails, the White Mountain Lake Water Company said.