Town Releases Additional Info about Bacteria in Wayland Water

Routine tests on Wayland's drinking water supply returned a positive result for E.coli Thursday, triggering a "Boil Water Notice" to Wayland schools.

Subsequent tests, however, revealed the water to be safe and the notice to Wayland schools was quickly lifted.

According to an announcement from the Town of Wayland, Wayland constantly and routinely checks the town's water supply. On Thursday, one of the samples of raw water -- that is, water that has not yet been treated for distribution -- tested positive for E.coli, which indicates the presence of fecal matter. The sample came from Happy Hollow Well #1.

The well was immediately taken off-line pending further testing and because of state Department of Environmental Protection regulations, Wayland's schools were issued a verbal "Boil Water Notice."

Wayland Department of Public Works Director Don Ouellette stressed that the water actually being pumped to Wayland homes and businesses tested clean -- only a sample from untreated water tested positive for the bacteria.

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

Ouellette told Patch that the positive test result could have been caused by anything from actual contamination to laboratory error.

Though the treated water tested clean, the state requires that additional tests of the chlorinated system be conducted before the well -- one of eight sources for Wayland's drinking water -- be put back into use.

"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," the announcement reads.

Residents need not take any special steps related to their drinking water and additional notices will be distributed should that become necessary.

The full notice from the town of Wayland is attached as a PDF with this article.