Town of Chester
15 Middlefield Road
Chester, Ma 01011
DRINKING WATER WARNING
Chester Water has high turbidity levels
We, the Chester Water Department, routinely monitor your water for turbidity (cloudiness). This
tells us whether we are effectively filtering the water supply. A water sample taken on Tuesday, July 13, 2010 showed
turbidity levels of 4.6 turbidity units. This is just below the standard of 5 turbidity units. Due to high turbidity
levels, there is an increased chance that the water may contain disease-causing organisms.
What does this mean?
Turbidity has no health effects. However, turbidity can interfere with disinfection and
provide a medium for microbial growth. Turbidity may indicate the presence of disease-causing organisms. These
organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites, which can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated
headaches. These symptoms 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.
What should I do?
* There is nothing you need to do. You do not need
to boil your water or take other actions. We do not know of any bacterial contamination, and none of our testing
has shown disease-causing organisms in the drinking water.
* If you have a severely compromised immune system, have
an infant, are pregnant, or are elderly, you may be at increased risk and should seek advice from your health care providers
about this drinking water. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from the U.S.
EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
What happened? What is being done?
On Tuesday, July 13, 2010, an elevated turbidity reading (4.6 turbidity units) was recorded in a sample collected
from water entering the distribution system. We believe that sediment in water main pipes entered a tank (called a "clearwell")
at Chester's water treatment plant and accumulated there. The filtered water is of good quality, but the clearwell conditions
raised the turbidity. We are taking the following corrective actions to ensure the safety of our drinking water, in
consultation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection:
* Clear, filtered water is being moved into the water system to replace discolored
water.
* Chlorine levels in the water system have been increased, and will remain
elevated as long as the turbidity is elevated. Chlorine residual readings are being monitored in the water system on
a daily basis.
* Bacteria monitoring conducted on July 12th showed no bacteria in the water.
Bacteria monitoring in the water system will continue on a daily basis as long as the turbidity is elevated.
* Arrangements are being made to clean the clearwell.
We will inform you when turbidity returns to appropriate levels. For more information, please contact
Peter Strogonaw, Water Commissioner, at (413) 354-1019 or at 263 Route 20, Chester, Ma 01011.
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: Chester Water Department
PWS ID# 1059000
Date distributed 7/13/2010
