Man’s Body Was in City’s Water Supply for 1 Month, Officials Say It’s Safe to Drink

A man’s dead body was found and identified in a water supply in Rochester, N.Y., this week, Mayor Malik Evans said during a Thursday press conference.

Abdullahi Muya’s body was first found on Tuesday in the Highland Park Reservoir after his body remained in the water supply for 25 days. As a result of the discovery of the 29-year-old’s body, the city administered a temporary boil water advisory.

Evans explained that since then, there has been “diligent and continuous testing identifies no immediate concerns,” and the advisory has been lifted. 

However, the “Water Bureau is beginning to empty out the reservoir, and the cleaning process will continue for several weeks,” Evans explained. He said that the city regularly cleans the reservoir, but they moved up the process from May to March. It is expected to take “at least eight weeks.”

Muya had been missing since February and was last seen on Feb. 18, according to the Rochester Police Department. Upon the discovery of his body during the Water Bureau's investigation, it was uncovered that he entered the reservoir’s gated spiked area on Feb. 24. “At approximately 6:30 a.m., he slid down the side of the reservoir into the water and tragically died,” said Evans. 

"After entering the gated area, at approximately 6:30 a.m., Mr. Muya appears to have slid down the side of the reservoir, into the water, where he tragically died," police said Thursday, per CBS News. "There was no one else present at the time of Mr. Muya's death and their [sic] does not appear to be any criminal element to this investigation." 

Muya remained “well below the surface” of the 15-foot-deep body of water for just under a month, Evans said during the press conference. “He was up against the inlet structure in the shadows of the north side of the reservoir which one could draw from that that they did not see him the entire time that he was there,” Evans said.

Evans said that Muya was alone and that “it does not appear that there is any criminal element to this investigation.”

However, Evans said that the discovery of Muya's body now "obviously calls into question how could he have not been detected in the reservoir being there that long." He explained that in addition to having spikes to deter people from entering, the reservoir's perimeter has heat and motion sensors and security cameras, and is regularly patrolled by Water Bureau personnel and city security. 

“I will tell you that we are working now to determine how we can address any gaps in security to ensure no physical breaches of the perimeter happen in the future,” Evans continued. “I'm very concerned that someone was able to breach that water system as it relates to the safety of our water.”

He said that the city will have further discussions regarding the federal requirement to cover water supplies. Evans explained that because the reservoir is not covered, the federal government requires “extreme strict guidelines in terms of the water quality and water testing.”

He explained that those conversations will “unfortunately” have to “resurface probably very soon.”

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He concluded the press conference by saying because the city "invests so much infrastructure as it relates to water," that "the last years have shown that there are no issues with our water." Evans reiterated his main concerns are regarding the security around the water supply rather than the quality of the source.

A representative for Rochester Police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for more information on Thursday.