Important Information

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER

Tests Showed Coliform Bacteria in West Boylston Water District Water

November 1,  2007

Our water system recently violated a drinking water standard. Although this incident was not an emergency, as our customers, you have a right to know what happened and what we did to correct this situation.  

We routinely monitor for drinking water contaminants. We took 17 samples to test for the presence of coliform bacteria during the month of October. Three (3) of our samples showed the presence of total coliform bacteria. The standard is that no more than 1 sample per month may do so.  

You do not need to boil your water or take other corrective actions. However, if you have specific health concerns, consult your doctor.

People with severely compromised immune systems, infants, and some elderly may be at increased risk. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1 (800) 426-4791.

What does this mean?

This is not an emergency. If it had been, you would have been notified immediately. Coliform bacteria are generally not harmful themselves. Coliforms are bacteria which are naturally present in the environment and are used as an indicator that other, potentially-harmful, bacteria may be present. Coliforms were found in more samples than allowed and this was a warning of potential problems.

Usually, coliforms are a sign that there could be a problem with the system’s treatment or distribution system (pipes). Whenever we detect coliform bacteria in any sample, we do follow-up testing to see if other bacteria of greater concern, such as fecal coliform or E. coli, are present. We did not find any of these bacteria in our subsequent testing, and further testing shows that this problem has been resolved.

What happened? What was done? 

On October 10, 2007 during routine sampling of the Water System consisting of (17) samples collected for coliform bacteria, three (3) of the samples tested positive. The affected areas were the Stockwell Road Tank, West Boylston Street and Shrewsbury Street areas. The Water District notified the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) and, as a corrective action, the entire distribution system was chlorinated along with the isolated Stockwell Road Tank.  As a result there may be a slight chlorine taste/odor in the water. Nine (9) repeat samples were taken on October 15, 2007. All nine (9) samples tested negative showing zero (0) coliform bacteria. Both the Water District and the DEP have evaluated this situation and concur that the necessary steps were taken.

For more information, please contact the West Boylston Water District at 508-835-3025.

Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.

Distributed by the West Boylston Water District PWS ID#: 2321000 on November 1, 2007