CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- Merchants in a South Bay business park have learned that they have been drinking and washing their hands with treated sewage water for the last two years, it was reported Wednesday.

The discovery was made Friday after the property manager at Eastlake's Fenton Business Center sent a water sample to a private lab, whose testing showed the presence of total coliform bacteria in the water, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The Otay Water District had assured the merchants the water was fine, even though they complained it tasted bad, smelled funny and had a yellowish tint, according to the Union-Tribune.

Signs are now posted on all the businesses warning people not to drink the water. Two food-related businesses were closed by the county Department of Environmental Health because of the tainted water, the newspaper reported.

Investigators found that, somehow, the park was hooked up to a pipe carrying recycled water -- treated wastewater intended solely for irrigation -- instead of drinking water, the newspaper reported.

Otay General Manager Mark Watton didn't have a lot of answers as to how this could have happened, but promised that the district would pay for medical tests for workers, and would compensate the businesses for their losses, the newspaper reported.

Watton told the Union-Tribune the water system has been repaired, but the state Department of Public Health requires more clean samples before the water is deemed safe and the two food-related businesses can reopen. Watton said he expects that to happen Thursday afternoon.

Ken August, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Health, said officials are investigating, the Union-Tribune reported.