Warning to Lake Tahoe Tech Elites: There Is ‘High Potential’ That You Are Drinking Poop Water

One of the most beautiful and wealthy communities on Lake Tahoe is alerting its residents (among whom are several Silicon Valley billionaires) to a potential poop problem in the local water supply. Incline Village has sent out a public notice warning its residents not to drink the water—at least not before they boil it.

The notice, which was sent out on Monday, notes that the community’s water system “experienced an event that resulted in loss of pressure in the distribution system, which may cause backpressure, backsiphonage, or a net movement of water from outside the pipe to the inside through cracks, breaks, or joints in the distribution system that are common in all water systems.â€

Unfortunately, the kinds of stuff that can seep into the community’s pipes through those cracks and joints are definitely not the sort of thing you want in your drinking water. “Such a system failure carries with it a high potential that fecal contamination or other disease-causing organisms could enter the distribution system,†the notice continues. “These conditions may pose an imminent and substantial health endangerment to persons served by the system.â€

“DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST,†the notice warns, with additional instructions on safe procedure.

An official with Incline Village said that there wasn’t proof that fecal matter was actually in the water and that the warning was a standard public notice issued under these circumstances. They confirmed there had been an incident with the city’s system and encouraged Gizmodo to contact the community’s testing lab, which has sampled the water for signs of contamination. Gizmodo reached out to the lab for comment.

The notice sent to residents Monday notes that the water is currently being tested and that results are expected by Thursday. “We will inform you when tests show no bacteria and you no longer need to boil your water.â€

In 2021, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison purchased a 16-acre waterfront Hyatt resort in Incline Village for $345 million. David Duffield, who co-founded Workday, also reportedly lives in the area. Andy Bechtolsheim, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems, is also said to have lived in Incline as of March of last year. Zuck, who loves drinking water, doesn’t seem to have a place in Incline, but he does live nearby, so he should heed the warning if he visits a fellow tech titan in the area.