< Back to front page Text size – +

Water emergency ends in most of Gloucester

E-mail|Link|Comments () September 7, 2009 07:46 PM

By Jack Nicas and John M. Guilfoil, Globe Correspondent

After 18 days that have stalled the pace of life in Gloucester, the boil water order was lifted for nearly all parts of the city this evening.

Only about 120 homes in the industrial Blackburn area of the city will have to continue boiling their water for at least two more days. The rest of the city returned to normal at 7 p.m.

The past four surveys of the city’s water system show the lowest findings of coliform bacteria since the emergency began on Aug. 21. Saturday’s test showed no coliform citywide for the first time since Aug. 11. But state guidelines require two consecutive coliform-free surveys before boiling orders can be lifted, and Sunday’s test showed that only the Blackburn test site, out of about 35 sites tested around the city, registered contamination.

State and city officials expressed optimism with the latest test results.

"We’re certainly optimistic that things in the last week have finally been going in the direction we want them to,” said Deputy Fire Chief Miles Schlichte, the city’s spokesman on the water crisis. “These test results are proving that.”

For the first 13 days under the boil order, daily tests on random sites showed, on average, about 42 percent were contaminated.

Last Monday, officials closed the city’s main water treatment plant for a second, more thorough cleaning. The Babson plant, which pumps 3.5 million gallons of water per day, reopened a day later, clean and fully operational.

Babson, one of the city’s three treatment plants, was the only one affected by the contamination. Of the other two, one is closed for long-term maintenance, and one meets less than a third of the city’s water needs.

Ed Coletta of the state Department of Environmental Protection called Babson’s re-cleaning and a full chlorination of the city’s water system “the two key pieces” to eradicating the coliform and lifting the boil-water order.

The water emergency has weighed heavily on many Gloucester residents the past few weeks. They’ve been ordered to boil city water for one minute before using it, limiting their ability to cook and clean.

Gloucester-based companies, specifically those in the food industry, which had to boil water for 5 minutes, have also languished. Some temporarily closed and others have been suffering financially. Gorton’s, the famous frozen fish company, has spent about $7,000 a day trucking in clean water, said Gorton’s President and CEO, Judson Reis.

If it weren’t for the heavy presence of coliform in previous weeks, the most recent tests would be acceptable under state standards, which allow coliform at less than 5 percent of tested sites.

“Water always has coliform,” Schlichte said. “We actually have to go beyond what’s normal before the DEP will lift the boil order.”

Coliform can cause diarrhea and indicate the presence of other, more harmful germs. Throughout the emergency, no traces of E. coli or fecal matter have been found.