BERLIN — A town in western Germany was hit with a water contamination warning after authorities raised the alarm that the water supply might have been tampered with.

Following a preliminary analysis of water samples in Mechernich, officials said on Friday morning that they could largely rule out the presence of foreign chemicals and biological substances but that residents should still take care when using any water, according to domestic media.

This includes boiling water before consuming it, only using it for domestic purposes, and stockpiling drinking water as a precaution.

The town of Mechernich hosts facilities belonging to the Bundeswehr, Germany's federal armed forces, which are part of the same water reservoir.

The authorities were alerted to the possible tampering after a hole was found in the fence around the facility, according to a domestic media report.

Mechernich is located just south of Cologne, where a similar incident took place on Wednesday.

The Bundeswehr's Cologne-Wahn base was put on alert and cordoned off following suspicions that its water supply had been sabotaged and damage to its fence was found in its perimeter.

Against the backdrop of the situation in Cologne, Mechernich's 10,000 residents were put on high alert in case of a health hazard.

A spokesperson for Mechernich reportedly said that while the special fire brigade unit had confirmed the water had not been contaminated, further tests would be needed to work out whether there were bacteria in the water supply. — Euronews