Water safe to drink, regardless of notice sent

Due to a missed deadline, residents in Dartmouth may have received a notice surrounding their drinking water in early September. This was not due to any present bacteria in the water. 

“Dartmouth’s drinking water remains safe to drink and use as normal,” stated a NewsFlash on the Dartmouth Town Page.

Three of 219 samples of water tested between January and July tested positive for coliform bacteria. This bacteria is found in soil, vegetation, surface water and animal intestinal tracks. While most coliform is not harmful, it is used as an indicator of water condition as it can be a sign of E. Coli. 

As three samples came back positive in July, this triggered a Level One Assessment where the Town was required to perform follow up testing to determine if there was an issue or not. To do this, a specialist collected three samples from where the initial sample was; one in the same location, one upstream and one downstream. Nine total samples were tested and all came back negative for coliform. 

Once these samples are done, the Town must send the results to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protections for further action. 

Due to the staffing change of the Water and Sewer Division Superintendent, the new Superintendent Andrew LeFlear did not send the samples within the allotted time frame. 

As Mass DEP did not receive the updated sample results, the Department of Public Works received a notice of noncompliance and was raised to Tier Two and Tier Three, which requires public notice. 

The letter alerting the public of the three positive tests did not come from Public Works, but rather from the DEP and did not include clarifying information on what the tests were. 

To prevent this happening again, Director of Public Works Tim Barber stated that Public Works has implemented further training, a shared calendar with deadlines like this and have adjusted the levels within the water filtration tanks. 

During the Monday, Sept. 6 joint meeting of the Select Board and Board of Public Works, Select Board member Shawn McDonald stated he saw people online wondering if the color of their water filtration system filters was a sign of issues in the water. He and Barber clarified that the discoloration can be from a number of factors, such as pipe age, style of pipe, natural minerals and that the filter is working.