A mysterious spike in bacteria at Children's Hospital is raising questions about the District's drinking water, after officials at the hospital are providing patients with bottled water and prohibiting them from bathing in city-provided water.

No one knows what's causing it or what can be done to stop it, but the bacteria in the hospital's water has some people worried.

Medical staff treating patients at Children's are using hand sanitizer because soap and water is forbidden. Preliminary test discovered too much bacteria in the hospital's water.

Shakita Slater noticed the stepped up hygiene around her baby Jayden. "They washed their hands and put on hand sanitizer."

Jonathan Mehia said no one told him about the possibly tainted water. "It concerns me. They should a told us something but they didn't tell us nothing."

Staffers said they got notice a couple weeks ago. "They told us that there is some issue and they are working with the D.C. water board to take care of it."

Some people at the hospital suggest the problem stems from the water and sewer authority. It did issue a release stating it imposed a temporary change in the disinfecting process in April. It said residents of D.C., Arlington, Falls Church and sections of Fairfax County (web|news) might notice a difference in the smell and taste of their water.

A spokesperson for WASA said it's not experiencing a system-wide contamination problem. When asked if they were having isolated problems with bacteria, the hospital said the situtation would not affect those in generally good health.

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