Dedham-Westwood Water District's Drinking Water Notice

The following information was contributed by the Dedham-Westwood Water District.

To all users of the Dedham-Westwood Water District located in Dedham Massachusetts.  This is an important notice-please have it translated for anyone that does not understand English   For more information and further updates, please contact Tabitha Maccalous,  Water Quality Supervisor, at (781) 461-2785. 

We routinely monitor for the presence of drinking water contaminants to ensure the safety of the water supply.  On July 10, 2013, our water system was notified that a raw (untreated) water sample collected on July 9, 2013 from Well 3A tested positive for E.coli, which is a fecal indicator.  Fecal indicators are used to detect ground water sources that may be susceptible to fecal contamination which may contain harmful viruses of bacteria.  When we learned of the fecal positive sample, THE WELL WAS TAKEN OFFLINE.  

The water delivered to your taps through the distribution system is disinfected with chlorine to kill viruses and bacteria, including E.coli.  It is important to note that treated samples collected in the distribution system did NOT detect any fecal contaminants.

Five repeat samples were collected from Well 3A on July 10, 2013 and were negative for total coliform and e.coli.

This well is one of five sources that supply drinking water to our system.  The five wells combine together and a sample is collected of the combined water.  This combined sample was negative for E. coli. The other four wells were also negative for E.coli.  Even though none of the chlorinated distribution samples tested positive, the chlorine disinfection system of the wells has not been certified by Mass DEP as 4-log compliant for 99.99% virus inactivation.  In accordance with the new federal Ground Water Rule (GWR) requirements, we are notifying you of the situation and conducting additional sampling to evaluate the extent of potential fecal contamination and will take further actions as necessary.  

             WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?     WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

This is not an emergency, you do not need to boil your water or take other corrective actions at this time.

The USEPA requires us to provide you with this notice and the following information on fecal indicators, even though the well with the fecal indicator is no longer is use: “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 or online at http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/basicinformation/pathogens.cfm.