Tests showed coliform bacteria detected in drinking water served by:
Bellingham DPW – Water Division
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 did to correct this situation.
We routinely monitor for the presence of drinking water contaminants. More than 1 sample or greater than 5 percent of our samples collected for coliform bacteria during the month of September, 2009 showed the positive presence of coliform bacteria. This exceeds Massachusetts Drinking Water regulatory standards. In addition, E. coli bacteria were detected in some of the samples during the first round of drinking water samples; however, no bacteria were detected in three subsequent repeat rounds of drinking water samples.
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 via our Code RED customer contact (Reverse 911) system. 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. Fecal coliforms and E. coli are bacteria 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.
What happened? What has been done?
Usually, coliforms are a sign that there could be a problem with the system’s source water, treatment process or distribution system (pipes or storage tanks). Whenever we detect coliform bacteria in any sample, we are required to immediately perform follow-up testing.
Although total coliform and E.coli bacteria were found in some of the initial samples collected on September 1, 2009, no bacteria were detected in any of the confirmation samples collected on September 3, September 4, and September 5. In addition, no bacteria were detected in any of the September 15, 2009 samples collected throughout the system.
We have continued to disinfect the water supply at all of our sources using the disinfectant, Sodium hypochlorite (chlorine). We also added disinfectant directly to our distribution system’s storage tanks and flushed hydrants throughout the system to ensure disinfection reached all areas of the water distribution system. We are continually tracking the levels of the disinfectant throughout the water supply and are now utilizing a laboratory that provides bacteria results within 24 hours to ensure timely responses.
On September 4, 2009, we initiated a meeting of the Bellingham Emergency Planning Committee to coordinate various community departments and organizations in preparation of a timely response to any potentially required actions, if deemed necessary.
Finally, we have and will continue to maintain regular contact with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) Central Regional Office (CERO). MassDEP-CERO has evaluated and approved the effectiveness of our past corrective actions and will continue to evaluate future actions.
For more information, please contact Don DiMartino, DPW Director, at 508-966-5813 or
26 Blackstone Street, Bellingham, Massachusetts 02019.
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.
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