Winchester Municipal Utilities General Manager Mike Flynn announced in an email Wednesday that a private company requesting water samples from Winchester residents is not affiliated with the utility in any way.

The matter was brought to the attention of WMU and City of Winchester officials after the Kentucky Water and Air company began leaving door tags on homes.

“Folks — just want everyone to be aware that we have a private company dropping off sampling bags and bottles to residences in the area asking them to take samples for testing purposes,” Flynn stated in an email.

The tags request residents to fill a sample bottle and complete a short form before placing both in a bag and hanging it on the door where it was left for pickup the next day.

Flynn noted that the door tags do not specify what the company is testing for, but they are not working for WMU or the city.

“Anything requested by WMU would have our logo and contact information,” Flynn said. “Our employees also carry identification to verify they are a WMU employee.”