IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER
Tests Showed Coliform Bacteria in Wareham Fire District Water
Our water system recently violated a monthly 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 55 samples to test for the presence of coliform bacteria in the month of January 2009. 6 out of the 55 samples showed the presence of total coliform bacteria. The standard is that no more than 5 percent of the total number of samples may do so.
What should I do?
- 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?
In the month of January 2009, routine testing indicated the presence of total coliform bacteria in excess of allowable limits in the water distribution system. To correct the problem the water department began to add chlorine to the water supply beginning on 21 January 2009 at a dose rate of 1 part per million. Chlorination was stopped on 2 February 2009.
For more information, please contact the Wareham Water Department at (508) 295-0450 or 2550 Cranberry Highway, Wareham, MA 02571.
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.
This notice is being sent to you by the Wareham Fire District Water Dept.
PWS ID#: 43100000 Date distributed: 3 February 2009
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