Drinking Water Notice

The Following is a Press Release from the office of the Mansfield Department of Public Works

DRINKING WATER NOTICE To all users of Town of Mansfield Public Water Supply.

Our water system routinely monitors for the presence of drinking water contaminants to ensure the safety of the water supply.  On August 17, 2011, our water system was notified that a water sample collected on Tuesday, August 16, 2011 from Dustin Well #7 tested positive for [E.coli or enterococci], which is a fecal indicator.  Dustin Well is one of ten wells that supplies drinking water to our system.  

During normal operations, water from Dustin Well #7 is pumped from the ground and it is disinfected with chlorine to kill viruses and fecal indicators, including [E.coli, enterococci].  The chlorinated water is delivered to you.  None of the chlorinated samples tested positive for [E.coli, enterococci].  Only the untreated sample from Dustin Well #7 tested positive.
 
Our water system meets the state requirements for treating ground water to kill bacteria and viruses; however we have not completed the required certification process.  A new regulation, the Ground Water Rule, requires us to notify you while we complete this process.
 
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?    WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

• You DO NOT need to boil your water.

• The USEPA requires us to provide you with this notice and the following information on fecal indicators until we receive official state certification of our treatment.  “Fecal indicators are microbes whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or 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.” These symptoms can also be caused by issues unrelated to drinking water.  If you experience any of these symptoms and they persist, or, if you have specific health concerns, you may want to discuss such concerns with your doctor. 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.

 
WHAT IS BEING DONE?

 
We are in contact with MassDEP who is reviewing our treatment process and formal application for state certification.
In the interim, Mansfield Water Division is in the process of installing a chlorine injection system at the well to meet the State 4-log disinfection requirement.  We continue to maintain chlorine levels throughout our system and monitor for the presence of fecal contaminants in the sources and distribution system to ensure the safety of the water supply.  Dustin Well #7 will remain offline for further evaluation.  At this time our system is undergoing repeat testing and evaluation to determine if the current level of treatment is adequate, or if additional corrective actions are necessary to reduce the risk of potential fecal contamination in our drinking water supply.
 
We are in communication with MassDEP during this process who will evaluate the effectiveness of the steps taken and determine if any further action is required.  Customers will be notified again if any corrective actions become necessary.  
 
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact Kurt E. Gaffney, Water Operations Manager at (508) 261-7376.
Website address: www.mansfieldma.com <www.mansfieldma.com>
PWSID#: [PWSID#4167000]     Date Distributed: August 17, 2011