IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER

Tests Show Coliform Bacteria in Wrentham Water System

Our water system recently violated a drinking water standard. Although this is not an emergency, as our customers, you have a right to know what happened, what you should do, and what we are doing to correct this situation.

We routinely monitor for the presence of drinking water contaminants. We took 13 routine samples for coliform bacteria during September 2014.  Three of these samples showed the presence of coliform bacteria. These samples triggered an MCL (maximum contaminant level) violation for coliform bacteria, the standard is that no more than [1 sample per month/5 percent of our samples] may do so. Subsequent samples confirmed the presence of coliform bacteria in the water; we are still detecting coliform bacteria in the distribution system.

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. Total 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 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. If we had, we would have notified you immediately. However, we are still finding coliforms in the drinking water.

What happened? What is being done?

The presence of coliform bacteria was found in some routine samples. We have been in contact with the MassDEP to help correct this situation. We have added chlorine to all three of our water tanks and have been flushing the water throughout the water system and are still detecting coliform bacteria. We will continue to add chlorine and flush the distribution system until this situation is resolved. We will inform you when our sampling shows that no bacteria are present. We anticipate resolving the problem before the end of the month.

For more information, please contact Douglas R. Valovcin, Assistant Superintendent of Public Works at 508-384-5477 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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

Wrentham DPW Water Division     -     PWS ID#:   4350000     -     Date distributed:  9/19/2014