WESTFIELD—The Department of Public Works said there is nothing to worry about after a small amount of water from one of the contaminated wells made its way into the water distribution system yesterday.
A notice was sent out to residents yesterday afternoon letting them know that the water from well two—one of the contaminated wells that was shut down recently—was put in the system during testing of the well. The alert was sent out due to an “abundance of caution” according to the notice, as well as due to EPA regulations. The amount put into the system is not considered dangerous in any way.
“It’s 10,000 gallons going into a system of 4 or 5 million gallons,” David Billips, director of Westfield Public Works, said. “It’s a small volume that’s not going to affect the water.”
Billips added that the water from well two, although offline due to possible contamination with PFOA and PFOS chemicals, is at a borderline level of contamination and may be “within the margin of error” in the testing.
He said that the water from well two went into the system solely while testing the water, and it was not to replenish the system or to indicate that well two was back online.
He also said that the department will look at other avenues next time they test.
“Next time we test it will go into waste rather than into water supply so this won’t happen again,” he said.
The tests are due back in about a month.
