Nashville, TN (WOKI) The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) lifted an advisory Wednesday that asked people to avoid touching water affected by Hurricane Helene’s flooding.

The advisory was issued on October 2, just days after the storm hit. It asked people to avoid waters in the Nolichucky, French Broad, Pigeon, Doe, and Watauga River watersheds. Officials say the advisory was issued out of an abundance of caution, not tied to any specific water quality data.

“We want to reassure Tennesseans of the water quality in the region,” TDEC Commissioner David Salyers said. “TDEC issued the water contact advisory out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of the health and safety of our citizens. We are pleased that we can lift this contact advisory today.”

The decision to lift the advisory comes after the state analyzed some water from the region and found that water quality had returned to pre-Helene conditions. Results of the water sample analysis can be found here.