WELLFLEET – The Wellfleet Water Department has issued the following statement:
DRINKING WATER WARNING
E. coli is present in Wellfleet Municipal Water System
BOIL YOUR WATER BEFORE USING
The Wellfleet Municipal Water System, PWS ID 4318094, Wellfleet, population summer 750, will be issuing a Tier 1, Boil
Water Public Notice within the next 24 hours pursuant to the Revised Total Coliform Rule (RTCR). In following MassDEP
regulations, the required follow up samples were conducted to validate the presence of bacteria. Total coliform and E. coli
bacteria were found in two additional routine distribution system samples collected on September 24, 2020. The PWS was
notified by the lab of the results on September 25, 2020. The PWS notified MassDEP SERO the same day. The PWS collected
repeats samples for RTCR and triggered monitoring for the Ground Water Rule (GWR) on September 25, 2020. The PWS was
notified by the lab this evening, September 26, 2020 that one RTCR repeat sample was total coliform and E. coli positive. The
E. coli positive repeat sample, following the E. coli positive additional routine sample constitutes an E. coli MCL violation.
bacteria can make you sick and are especially a concern for people with weakened immune systems. Bacterial contamination
can occur when increased run-off enters the drinking water source (for example, following heavy rains). It can also happen
due to a break in the distribution system (pipes) or a failure in the water treatment process.
What should I do? What does this mean?
• DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST. Bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one minute and let it
cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing
teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the
water.
• Food establishments must boil the water for 5 minutes; large volumes of water need 5 minutes!
• Discard any ice, beverages, formula, and uncooked foods that were prepared with water from the public water
system on or after 09/24/2020.
• *Coliforms are bacteria which are naturally present in the environment and are used as an indicator that other,
potentially harmful, bacteria may be present. *
• *E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes.
Human pathogens in these wastes can cause short-term effects, such as diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or
other symptoms. They may pose a greater health risk for infants, young children, the elderly, and people with
severely compromised immune systems. *
• The symptoms above are not caused only by organisms in drinking water. If you experience any of these symptoms
and they persist, you may want to seek medical advice. People at increased risk should seek advice from their
healthcare providers about drinking this water.
What is being done?
An investigation of the source of bacteria is underway, and in the meantime water system will be disinfected by means of
chlorination. We will inform you when tests show no bacteria are present and you no longer need to boil your water. System
flushing and additionally water quality sampling will occur to validate clean drinking water. Depending on the results of
disinfection and flushing, we anticipate resolving the problem within 3-7 days.
For more information, please contact WhiteWater at (888) 377-7678. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of
infection by bacteria and other disease-causing organisms are available from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-
426-4791.
*Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not
have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and
businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.*
This notice is being sent to you by Wellfleet Municipal Water System. State Water System ID#: 4318094.
