Chester Town Hall (Town of Chester photo)
CHESTER – The town of Chester sent a notice this week to residents using town water, advising them that the Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) levels, a disinfection byproduct, had exceeded the maximum contaminant level in the drinking water at the 381 Huntington Road testing location. The notice was in response to a letter from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) dated Dec. 4.
The Chester Water System is supplied by two reservoirs, the Austin Brook Reservoir and Horn Pond Reservoir. The Austin Brook Reservoir, the main supplier is located one mile west of the center of town. The Horn Pond Reservoir is in Becket and flows by gravity through conduit into Austin Brook, once the level drops to a prescribed level, according to a 2007 Drinking Water Quality Report.
The report goes on to say that the Chester Water System uses slow sand filtration for treatment of the raw water from Austin Brook. Before the water reaching the clear wells, sodium hydrochlorite is injected into the water for disinfection purposes. Upon discharge to the water system, sodium hydrochlorite is injected into the water for the purpose of reducing the effect of acidic water on household plumbing. The water quality is monitored regularly be the MassDEP.
Approximately half of the residents of Chester, 800 people, use Chester town water.
According to spokesperson Catherine Skiba, MassDEP issued a notice of noncompliance to the town dated Dec. 4 for exceedance of TTHMs in the drinking water, a byproduct of disinfecting the water with chlorine. TTHMs are four volatile organic chemicals which form when disinfectants react with natural organic matter in the water. While Skiba said the situation is not an emergency, as a cautionary measure MassDEP requires public notice be provided.
Drinking water with excessive TTHMs over many years may result in health impacts such as problems with liver, kidneys, or central nervous system, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer. People with compromised immune systems, have an infant, are pregnant or elderly may be at higher risk and should seek advice from a health care provider about drinking this water.
Skiba also said that Chester has not been consistently in exceedance of standards but has reported elevated TTHMs in the past. As a result of the most recent exceedances, MassDEP requires Chester to evaluate treatment processes and propose modifications to the treatment system to reduce the likelihood of elevated disinfection byproducts. The evaluation includes additional water quality monitoring and possible physical changes to the treatment process. Skiba said MassDEP staff have provided technical assistance to Chester in the past and suggested system modifications.
Town Administrator Patricia Carlino sent the notice to residents on Wednesday informing them of the violation of the drinking water standard at the 381 Huntington Road location for TTHMs in the Chester Water Department drinking water, as determined over an average of four quarters. The notice also states that this is not an emergency, and residents do not need to do anything in response.
For their response, the town stated the following: “We are conducting more water quality monitoring to assess the source water quality and treatment processes and will use this information to evaluate the cause(s) of elevated levels and potential corrective actions, such as improvements in our treatment system. We began additional monitoring in August due to water quality concerns and will use that information in our evaluation. We anticipate resolving the problem within the coming months. We will work with MassDEP throughout the process.”
