Recent water reports fill federal requirement

Date: 9/7/2010

Sept. 6, 2010

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

EAST LONGMEADOW -- Residents concerned after reading about lead and chloramines in the town's drinking water in a letter from the Department of Public Works (DPW) have nothing to fear, according to DPW Senior Project Manager Sean Kelley.

According to Kelley, those notices were sent out as a requirement of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency and were not the result of any problems with the town's drinking water, which the town purchases from the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission. The commission gets its water from the Cobble Mountain Reservoir in Blandford.

The first thing I can say is the water is safe to drink," Kelley said. "We just want people to be aware and educated. Anyone who drinks water from the Cobble Mountain system will tell you it's some of the best water around."

Kelley stressed that, especially in this time when lead is such a hot-button health issue, it should be noted that East Longmeadow's water has no issues with lead.

"The water that we supply [to] consumers does not contain lead," Kelley said. "What we have found out -- we being water professionals throughout the country -- is that lead is leaching out of the home plumbing system."

According to Kelley, the lead solder used to connect copper pipes together is often the culprit. The use of lead solder ended in the mid-1980s, but many homes in the area were built before then.

Those who own newer houses may also find the lead in their drinking water coming from the faucets themselves, because many of them are made in countries where laws regarding lead are not as strict, Kelley added.

Homeowners can have their water tested at their expense, but according to Kelley, there is no statistical pattern in regards to lead in drinking water.

"The thing is one day you could get a reading that there's lead in the water and the next day you could test it and there could be no lead," Kelley said,

Kelley suggested that those concerned about lead should let the water run for a few moments for "fresh water" or water that hasn't been sitting in the house pipes.

"You could also put a filtration system on your plumbing if you're concerned, but again, that is only as good as how often you change the filter," Kelley said.

Kelley also said that residents should not be worried about chloramines in the water.

Chloramination is the method by which the town's water is disinfected. Prior to 2005, the water was treated only with chlorine, but in September of 2005, the process was switched to one that treats using chlorine and ammonium sulfate.

"When you treat water, there is what you call a disinfectant by-product and that by-product can add up," Kelley said. "By adding the [ammonium sulfate], we reduce that. That by-product is not as prevalent."

Kelley said that chloramination is a process that is commonly used nationwide and it does not affect residents' ability to drink the water in any way. As stated in the letter sent to residents, Kelley indicated those who undergo dialysis will have to take extra precautions.

"The only caveat is that anyone who is on dialysis should notify their physician . My understanding is that they need to use a different type of filter," Kelley said.

Residents with ponds or fish tanks that contain tropical fish should use products available that remove chloramines.