'It's been hell': Rye boil water order hits third week. Public meeting is Sunday.

RYE — A boil water order for customers of the Rye Water District has now stretched into its third week following the detection of harmful bacteria in district water samples in mid-October.

A public informational meeting has been set for this weekend to discuss the order. Town leaders are continuing to distribute cases of bottled water to affected residents as Rye Water District leadership awaits the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services’ lifting of the order.

Three weeks since the enactment of the order, Rye Water District superintendent Arik Jones said he still feels it could take several more days before it's over.

“We are striving hard for no later than mid-week next week,” he said on Wednesday.

The cause of the water contamination has not been identified, though Jones stated that potential causes could be from “improper irrigation operation and/or maintenance.”

Sweet treats:Lovebirds Donuts of Kittery ready to open new Portsmouth shop. Here's what to expect.

Routine water testing conducted by the state Department of Environmental Services found three out of four water distribution sites within the Rye Water District contained E.coli and fecal coliform. As it fights to re-establish clean drinking water in Rye, the district reported late last week that none of its well systems were showing any E.coli, though two wells still had elevated levels of coliform.

“It’s been hell. It’s been nonstop phone calls, it's been nonstop educating people,” Jones said of the last few weeks. “It’s been pushing myself and my operators and meeting expectations and keeping calm and cool through it. It's not been easy.”

Chlorination completed, water testing taking place again

Public updates from the district this week reported that the district has undergone two rounds of system-wide chlorination to date and that water testing resumed Tuesday.

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services states that a boil water order can be lifted after two consecutive water sample sets of five samples each, taken 24 hours apart from each other, show the absence of bacteria in a water system.

Jones said dive teams have been contracted to check the district’s water tanks, though no problems have been found thus far.

“No smoking guns. Further investigations will continue,” he said.

In Newington:Former Sears building at Mall at Fox Run sold for $11.5 million: Here's what we know.

One district water tank on Washington Road was inspected on Monday and no issues were found, according to the district. Though within acceptable state limits, the district found that approximately one-fourth of an inch of sediment was found within the tank.

A second tank on Washington Road was inspected Tuesday, though results are not yet available. The district added this week that the city of Portsmouth has assisted in draining the district’s water tank on Breakfast Hill Road, which has a 1.25 million gallon capacity.

The district owns multiple wells, two pressure zones, approximately 39 miles of distribution pipe and three different storage tanks.

Rye Water district superintendent dispels concern over PFAS

Questions have been raised by some in the community about whether increased levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly referred to as “forever chemicals” that have adverse health effects when ingested in drinking water, have been found in district water since the order was put in place.

Found in manufactured items like carpets, fabrics, clothing, food packaging, pots and pans, and personal care products, two of the main PFAS chemicals are perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Others PFAS chemicals include perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS).

According to Jones, the district has tested for the man-made contaminants since 2016, and at no point has PFAS found in district water exceeded health regulations set by the state, nor by levels set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Public meeting Sunday, Nov. 6

New Rye Town Administrator Matthew Scruton applauded the Rye Water District staff and its commissioners for working around the clock to alleviate the contamination.

“The Rye Water District staff and Rye Water District Commissioners have all done an outstanding job working with NHDES, the Town and other resources to resolve this matter in a way that will ensure the ongoing reliable delivery of safe and clean drinking water,” he said.

Jones expressed optimism that the situation could be resolved in the coming days though stressed that determining water to be clean is not a quick process.

Seacoast NH election 2022 guide: Where to vote, what to know from US Senate to local races

“District staff and the (Department of Environmental Services), the vendors that work with us and other companies, have worked tremendously hard to rectify this situation,” he said. “I obviously had to call vendors in to do certain things, and they dropped everything. I want to thank them. It’s not a small group of people that are making this happen.”

Rye Fire Department Chief Mark Cotreau stated that, between Oct. 20 and this Wednesday, Nov. 2, the town and the Rye Water District have distributed 3,998 cases of bottled water to residents affected by the boil order. The Rye Water District is paying for all the bottled water.

“The Rye Fire Department, police department, department of public works and the Rye Lions Club are all staffing the distribution hours,” he said.

Scruton noted that bottled water distribution will continue every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Rye Fire Station until the boil water order is rescinded.

“It has been a challenging time for all in the community and efforts continue to deliver bottled water to residents of the Rye Water District who may be unable to make it to the water distribution site,” he said.

The Rye Water District’s public informational meeting will be held this Sunday, Nov. 6 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the cafeteria of Rye Junior High School.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Rye NH boil water order hits third week. Public meeting is Sunday.