Microbial comtaminate found in town well. Notice below.

Dartmouth Water Division
751 Allen Street
Dartmouth, MA 02747
December 4, 2009
Steven Sullivan
508 999 0742

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


DRINKING WATER PUBLIC NOTICE

During normal weekly water sampling Dartmouth Water Division found
microbes in one of its thirteen well sources. This well (Well D) is treated for
microbes at the Water Treatment Facility located on Chase Road prior to this
source water exiting the Treatment Facility. Dartmouth has taken steps to shut
off this well until such time it can be chlorinated and re-sampled.
A microbe, E. coli, was detected in the water from Well D collected on December 1, 2009. These microbes can make you sick, and are a particular concern for people with weakened immune systems. Dartmouth Water Division routinely provides disinfection adequate to remove fecal bacteria, but it does not reach the current standard to confidently remove viruses from drinking water. The Public Drinking Water Standard is to remove 99.99% of viruses.

What should I do? What do I need to know?

Discard all ice, food products and formula made with Dartmouth Water Division water on or before December 1, 2009.
· E. coli is a microbe whose presence indicates that the source water may be contaminated with human or ... (more after the jump)

... animal wastes. Microbes in these wastes can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms.
· They may pose a special health risk for infants, young children, some of the elderly, and people with severely compromised immune systems.

The symptoms above are not caused only 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 about drinking water from their health care providers.

What happened? What is being done?

Microbial contamination can occur when increased run-off enters the drinking water source (for example, following heavy rains) or from septic systems and other animal wastes, such as manure.
Corrective actions we have taken include:
Five (5) additional water samples have been taken from this source (Well D) as required by Ground water rule and Well D has been turned off. This well will be disinfected and retested. We are using an alternate drinking water source and most recently retained an engineering firm to assist Dartmouth in our effort to meet the Public Drinking Water Standard to remove 99.99% of viruses.
We will inform you when tests show no microbes/we install approved treatment that meets the Public Drinking Water Standard. We anticipate resolving the problem within 14 days.
For more information, please contact Steven M. Sullivan at 508 999 0742.
General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes 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.

This notice is being sent to you by, Dartmouth Water Division.

PWS ID# 4072000

Date distributed: 12/4/2009