E. coli indicator found in raw Raynham water, treated water tests clean, town says

RAYNHAM — Raynham residents got news this week of E. coli possibly found in a water sample taken at a well run by Raynham Center Water District, at the stage just before it reaches a treatment plant.

The sample, collected Jan. 9, got its results back the next day, which is when the Center Water District notified the public.

Raynham Center Water District Superintendent Jon Chase explained to Selectmen on Tuesday, Jan. 10 that notifications were sent out to the public as per regulations by the EPA and DEP.

The bacteria discovered is known as a fecal coliform. Its discovery is usually an indicator there's E. coli present.

As explained in the notification, because the sample tested was raw untreated water, before it made its way to a plant, and because no test samples from that well came back positive post-treatment, this incident isn’t classified as an emergency.

The contaminated well, which is sourced by the North Main Street treatment plant, was immediately taken offline for testing, according to Chase. No boil water order has been instituted and residents aren’t being told to do anything differently.

Raynham Center Water Distri... by JamaicaPlainNews

The notice also said it was increasing chlorine levels in the town’s drinking water supply temporarily while it investigates and retests, so consumers may notice that in the odor, taste and discoloration of household tap water.

Chase said on Thursday, Jan. 12, that five additional tests were conducted from that well on North Main Street that was the source of the bacteria, and all results came back negative, absent of E. coli or fecal coliforms. The District was just awaiting sign off by the DEP before the well could be put back online.

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The source of the contamination?

When Selectman Patricia Riley asked Chase at the Jan. 10 meeting what the possible source of the contaminant was, Chase said it likely had to do with the rise in the town’s water table, meaning treatment plants drawing water that is closer to the surface and at greater risk of contamination.

An example Chase gave of this problem is the treatment plant near Lake Nippenicket. Water from the lake containing worrisome bacteria has spilled over in the past into the well that is the source of raw ground water being fed to the treatment plant, he said. Because it has been a reoccurring problem with elevated water tables, the District has in the past shut down the Nip treatment plant for that reason.

Chase concluded that “the treatment plant is doing its job” which is why the bacteria didn’t make it to consumers.

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If it’s not one thing, it’s another

The irony of a rising water table wasn’t lost on Chase and the Selectmen considering complaints of the drought and a diminishing water table over the spring and summer last year were described as factors that contributed to higher PFAS levels discovered in the Raynham Center Water District's water supply.

Raynham Center Water District provides water to 60% of the town, Chase said.

Back in August of last year, the District notified the public that quarterly test results for the John P. Lynn Treatment Plant for PFAS6 exceeded the DEP limit of 20 ppt (parts per trillion).

Chase, at the time, said he believed the cause was last summer’s drought, which shrunk Raynham’s water table to the lowest it had been in five years, yielding higher concentrations of PFAS.

Each of Raynham Center’s three plants gets its water from multiple wells. When raw water from one of these wells registers high PFAS levels the state allows it to blend water from other wells to dilute concentrations and keep levels below 20ppt when treated.

Since then, PFAS levels have decreased, as shown through the most recent quarterly report, issued back on Dec. 2. The quarterly average for testing done in July, August, and September 2022 was 15 ppt, below the threshold. Monthly results since then, Chase said, from all three plants haven't exceeded 11ppt.

Chase did tell the Selectmen he is worried about a repeat of last summer if the water table goes down again.

It should be noted that all the issues described only deal with Raynham Center Water District. None of these issues with relation to E. coli, fecal coliforms or PFAS levels are emanating from North Raynham Water District.

North Raynham Water District Superintendent Arthur Bendinelli said PFAS levels continue to range between 2.1 ppt to none detected.

“The numbers remain low, and we hope to keep them that way,” Bendinelli said.

Progress with new infrastructure

According to the EPA, activated carbon is a proven method for filtering out most, if not all, PFAS compounds.

Raynham Center Water District intends to install active carbon filtration at two sites: the John Lynn Plant and the Lake Nip Plant. The project is currently in its early design phase.

For active filtration on a municipal level, it’s not something as easy as snapping filters to water pipes, or installing new tanks in the treatment plants. According to Chase, new facilities will have to be added on to the treatment plants, ones that require a lot of foundation space to hold large tanks capable of holding tens of tons of carbon.

Right now, preliminary cost estimates for the project are around $23 million total for two sites. According to Chase, civil engineers are currently doing geo tech surveys and design drawings to determine how large the foundations will have to be to hold the tanks, and how much additional piping will need to be constructed.

Chase said he believes once the design phase is done, that preliminary estimate will go down.

Chase told the Selectmen the water district recently was accepted to the state’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund which will help with most, if not all, of the cost of the project. Chase said the district won’t have access to these funds until summer, at the earliest.

Shortage of PFAS filtration systems as demand grows

Back in August, there was talk of using some of the town’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the project. Chase explained discussions didn’t get very far on that topic due to the amount of time the project would take.

“It’s not a shovel-ready project,” he said.

Currently, the waiting time on the tanks and other components to the active carbon filtration system is 18 months, according to Chase. The reason he was given is because many other water districts and treatment facilities across the country are also dealing with PFAS and trying to meet state and federal regulations.

“Companies are ramping up producing these systems,” he said.

The plan is to go out to bid later this year and start early on building a facility for the system. However, the best estimate for completion of the systems is late 2025, Chase said.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Raynham: E. Coli indicator found in untreated water on heels of PFAS