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Date: 10/14/2021
EAST LONGMEADOW – East Longmeadow residents recently received a letter regarding the public water supply, but town officials are assuring residents it is safe to drink.
Water & Sewer Administrator Felix Vachon explained to Reminder Publishing that a water sample taken on Sept. 8 was found to contain levels of a “disinfection byproduct” that are higher than the maximum contaminant level allowed by the state Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) standards. Vachon said this is not an emergency, but has been an ongoing issue with the town’s water since December 2018.
East Longmeadow buys its water from Springfield Water and Sewer Commission, which sources the water from Cobble Mountain and Borden Brook Reservoirs, known as the Little River Watershed. Vachon said that organics such as leaves and dirt wash into the watershed with rain and treatment facilities filter the debris out. The city’s outdated West Parish Filters Water Treatment Plant is “unable to keep up” with the organics and therefore adds chlorine to sanitize the water, he said.
As the water flows through the system, Vachon said, the chlorine breaks down and turns into, haloacetic acid 5, (HAA5). This is the disinfection byproduct which sample testing has shown in higher than maximum allowed levels.
According to MassDEP, “long term consumption of HAA5 in drinking water above the MCL may increase the risk of certain types of cancer (e.g., bladder, colon and rectal) and other adverse effects in some people.” That said, the state sets the standard level based on a lifetime of consumption.
The standard level is 60 micrograms per liter (µg/L). The sample at the Harkness Avenue pump station averaged 69 µg/L between December 2020 and September 2021. None of the other four sample sites tested high. Vachon said this is because it breaks down as it gets further from the source.
The level of HAA5 in East Longmeadow is not dangerous to drink, Vachon assured. “There’s nothing wrong with the water. I drink it. I’ve been drinking it for years,” he said. He did add that people may want to consult a doctor if they have with compromised immune systems, babies or are pregnant.
If the water is ever dangerous to drink, MassDEP will notify residents within 24 hours. That did not happen in this case.
A $167 million upgrade to the water treatment plant is scheduled to be completed by the end of June 2023. Until then, Vachon said, the HAA5 levels in East Longmeadow’s drinking water will continue to be high.
For more information of HAA5, visit https://www.mass.gov/service-details/haa5-in-drinking-water-information-for-consumers.