Town of Fairhaven
Board of Public Works
5 Arsene Street, Fairhaven, MA 02719
Drinking Water Problem Corrected
Customers of the Town of Fairhaven were notified on September 17, 2021, of a problem with our drinking water and were advised to boil water. We are pleased to report that the problem has been corrected, the water is safe to drink and cook with and that it is no longer necessary to boil water. We thank the residents and businesses for their patience while we worked to address this matter.
As corrective actions, we chlorinated and flushed the water distribution system and resampled the Town on September 17, 20 and 21 — when all the results yielded were E Coli absent. Further, we have hired an engineer to conduct an assessment of our well in order to ensure that any E Coli will be removed from this raw water source before it is placed back in service.
The Boil Water Order was caused by the detection of E coli in our raw water source. Even though this sample is collected before treatment occurs, as a precaution, we took the well out of service. Per the conditions of our State permit, we needed to collect confirmatory resamples to ensure that the E Coli was absent in our Town’s Water System. Unfortunately, one test at one location yielded a positive result of E coli and, per DEP Order# 00012120, the boil water order was issued.
In closing, it is important to note that we have an excellent ongoing testing/sampling program that many are not aware of and although we never want to issue a boil water order, the point of doing so is to protect the Health of the Community.
This notice is being sent to you by the Fairhaven Water Department, PWS ID# 4094000 on October 7, 2021.
DRINKING WATER PROBLEM CORRECTED
Customers of Fairhaven Water Department were notified on September 17, 2021 of a problem with our drinking water and were advised to Boil their water. We are pleased to report that the problem has been corrected and that it is no longer necessary to Boil your water. Notification that you no longer need to boil your water was made on September 22, 2021 via RAVE calls, radio, television, town website and social media. As required by MassDEP, we are following up with this newspaper article. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.
Residents/Customers were advised to flush their lines again to remove any contaminated water from their pipes and or fixtures (refrigerator water lines, water tanks, etc.) and any devices with filters should have the filters replaced. Go to the following webpage for detailed information on What to do after the Boil Order is lifted: https://www.mass.gov/guides/drinking-water-boil-orders-andpublic-health-orders#-what-to-do-after-the-order-is-lifted-
We are providing the following summary of the event for your information.
We collected routine samples on Tuesday, September 14, 2021. We were notified by the lab on Wednesday, September 15, 2021, that three distribution samples were total coliform positive, E. coli absent. We notified MassDEP the same day we were notified by the lab of the sample results. We collected repeat samples on Thursday, September 16, 2021 within 24 hours of notification by the lab, as required. We were notified by the lab on Friday, September 17, 2021, that one repeat sample collected on Thursday, September 16, 2021 was total coliform positive and E. coli positive. This E. coli positive repeat sample, following the total coliform positive original sample, constitutes an E. coli MCL violation. These bacteria can make you sick, and are especially a concern for people with weakened immune systems. In addition, E. coli was detected in routine source sampling conducted on September 14th (one source sample collected prior to treatment). We were notified by the lab on September 15th. We immediately removed the source from service and isolated it from the treatment system. The public was notified of this detect on September 16th as required by MassDEP. Two out of five additional source water samples collected on September 16th were also E. coli positive (collected while source was isolated/not in service). The source will remain offline until MassDEP approval has been granted to return it to service.
Bacterial contamination can occur when increased run-off enters the drinking water source (for example, following heavy rains). It can also happen due to a break in the distribution system (pipes) or a failure in the water treatment process.
Coliforms are bacteria which are naturally present in the environment and are used as an indicator that other, potentially-harmful, bacteria may be present.
E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes. Human pathogens in these wastes can cause short-term effects, such as diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms. They may pose a greater health risk for infants, young children, the elderly, and people with severely compromised immune systems.
The symptoms above are not only caused by organisms in drinking water. If you experience any of these symptoms and they persist, you may want to seek medical advice. People at increased risk should seek advice from their healthcare providers about drinking this water.
What was done?
We chlorinated and flushed the distribution system to draw the chlorinated water into the distribution system. We collected additional repeat samples on Friday, September 17, 2021. We conducted system wide sampling on Monday, September 20, 2021. Additional repeat samples were collected on Monday and Tuesday, September 20th and 21st. All distribution samples were absent.
For more information, please contact Jeff Furtado, Water Superintendent, at 508-979-4032 (Water Dept. office, messages will be retrieved periodically, and we will return calls as soon as possible). General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by bacteria and other disease-causing organisms are available from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
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.
As always, you may contact Jeffrey Furtado, at 508-979-4032 with any comments or questions.
This notice is being sent to you by Fairhaven Water Department, PWS ID#: 4094000. Date distributed: 10/7/2021
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