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water quality

    'STATE OF THE WATERS'

    Water Commissioners Question Wellfleet’s ‘Poor’ Rating

    APCC ranking of town’s water was based on 2020 incident

    By

    WELLFLEET — A report issued in late December by the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) singled out Wellfleet’s municipal water system as the only one among 20 on Cape Cod with “poor” water quality. But that conclusion is inaccurate and unfair, according to town officials, who said Wellfleet’s town water is “outstanding.”

    The “poor” rating, published in what the nonprofit Dennis-based APCC calls its annual “State of the Waters” report, is flawed, according to Wellfleet Water Commissioner Jim Hood, because it is based on one incident of contamination found during routine testing and quickly remedied.

    The rating, said Hood, “is not fair to us and the work we’ve been trying to do to improve the water supply here in Wellfleet.” None of the town’s water commissioners had heard of the report before being contacted by the Independent to comment on it.

    The APCC report states that Wellfleet “received a grade of ‘Poor’ due to violations in 2020 of two drinking water standards, E. coli and total coliform bacteria, as well as several violations which required the town to issue a ‘boil water order’ to protect public health.”

    The APCC’s ratings of Cape Cod’s public water supplies. (Courtesy Association to Preserve Cape Cod)

    The APCC’s drinking water rating, according to Executive Director Andrew Gottlieb, relies entirely on the annual consumer confidence report submitted by the town’s water supply company to the Mass. Dept. of Environmental Protection. He said the rating reflects the fact that a problem requiring remediation occurred. “That’s our definition of ‘poor,’ ” Gottlieb said. “We had no reason to expect Wellfleet’s rating. Nothing had been found in two prior years,” he added.

    Nonetheless, Gottlieb said, “I believe the rating is fair.”

    The APCC’s report was issued Dec. 22, according to Gottlieb, and a press release went out on Jan. 3. Asked why it took a year to issue the water system ratings, Gottlieb said that it takes his organization that much time to compile all the data it needs for its report, which extends beyond drinking water to include conclusions on pond and estuary health as well.

    Hood objected to the reference to “several violations” in the APCC report, saying that multiple incidents did not occur.

    “There was one event,” Hood said. That event was widely reported, including in the Oct. 1, 2020 issue of the Independent.

    In September 2020, during routine flushing of lines, done to clear debris, the town’s water system operator, Whitewater Inc. of Charlton, found E. coli at the Coles Neck well field just north of town, Hood said. Measuring for coliform in drinking water is important because one specific form of the bacteria (E. coli O157:H7) can be dangerous, causing diarrhea, dysentery, and hepatitis, according to the CDC.

    While the source of the problem was being investigated, the state issued an order to the occupants of the 290 homes served by the system, requiring tap water be boiled for at least one minute before drinking, washing dishes, or brushing teeth with it. Restaurants were required to boil water for five minutes.

    A cracked wellhead cap found at the Coles Neck well field had allowed bacteria to get into the water there.

    “Unfortunately, the town’s water supply company had not sealed off the water line,” said Hood and, as a result, bacteria traveled from the well field down to Coles Neck Road, he said. Tests indicated two properties near the top of that water line were affected.

    The boil-water order was lifted four days after the bacteria were detected, after the water was treated with chlorine and subsequent samples reported to the state Dept. of Environmental Protection confirmed the system was clear, Hood said.

    “The incident covered a weakness in the system that was addressed promptly,” said Water Commissioner Curt Felix. “The DEP was satisfied. The bottom line is Wellfleet’s water quality is outstanding.”

    Whitewater Inc. General Manager Stephen Donovan would not respond to questions about the APCC’s report, saying that “the town of Wellfleet has asked we forgo responding until after the board of water commissioners has met and had an opportunity to discuss.”

    The water commissioners planned to meet on Tuesday, Jan. 18 to discuss the report. Town Water Clerk Karen Plantier did not respond to multiple voicemail and email messages.

    At their Oct. 5, 2021 meeting, the commissioners discussed positive tests for coliform bacteria in the municipal water system in September and again in October. Regular testing of the system’s water supply is required. When coliform bacteria are found, Felix said, the town follows DEP procedures, retesting the water for other contaminants.

    “Coliform bacteria are ubiquitous,” said Felix. “It’s not dangerous. Everything in nature that’s consuming food and digesting it is producing these bacteria. Naturally, they’re more present in the soil.”

    Hood referred to a 2017 nationwide tap water report by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group. Wellfleet was reported to have the lowest contaminant levels in Barnstable County, he said.

    “That was the first time we ever had an event like that,” Hood said of the Coles Neck contamination. Even before the detection of E. coli there, the Coles Neck well field was not used regularly. “Right now, the Coles Neck Road well field is all sealed off,” Hood said.

    The town mainly uses two wells at the Boy Scout Camp well field, near the Council on Aging on Old County Road. “That’s our primary water source and it has been since 2010,” Hood said. Two wells at the Coles Neck well field are at least 30 years old, with one redone in 2004 or 2005. “There are repairs that need to happen in conjunction with the installation of the new water main there.”

    The town is installing a new $3.8-million water main at the Coles Neck Road well field that will enter town along Briar Lane,  bringing the system’s secondary water source into compliance with DEP requirements for a redundant water supply. The town received a $2.5-million state grant for the project. Work is expected to start next week.

    Hood said his largest takeaway from the 2020 incident had to do with the fact that, while most Cape Cod towns chlorinate their water routinely, Wellfleet does not. The contamination was an example of why it might have been a better decision to add chlorine to the town’s drinking water to kill parasites, bacteria, and viruses, he said.

    “If it had been chlorinated, Whitewater would never have found this,” said Hood. “That decision was made well before my time,” he added. Hood has been a member of the board of water commissioners for 10 years.

    AFFORDABLE HOUSING

    Wellfleet’s Big Plan Goes Out for Bids

    Proposed wastewater system would boost watershed protection

    By

    WELLFLEET — The largest affordable housing initiative in the town’s history reached a milestone last week with the select board’s unanimous approval on March 9 of a request for proposals (RFP) for the 46-unit 95 Lawrence Road project. Bids from potential developers are due on June 15.

    CLOVERLEAF PROJECT

    Water Quality Issues? Check Your Septic, Says Beebe.

    Truro health agent points to inspections and testing

    By

    TRURO — Health and Conservation Agent Emily Beebe had a lot of things to say about water quality and the Cloverleaf affordable housing proposal, both in a letter to the Truro Zoning Board of Appeals and at the Oct. 8 continuation of the ZBA’s hearing on a comprehensive permit for the project. Many of her comments came down to one simple premise, however: if it’s well water you’re worried about, look at your own septic system — and your neighbors’.

    “[The Cloverleaf] proposal would treat the wastewater to a vastly higher degree than anyone else in your neighborhood,” Beebe told the ZBA. “Where you should be looking is not upstream at this site, but at what’s adjacent to you,” she added.

    “It’s good to know that folks already have some [well water] test results,” Beebe said. “What you’re looking at now is what’s happening because of your own septic system and your neighbor septic systems.”

    Water quality has come to dominate discussion of the Cloverleaf project, which would include 39 affordable apartments with 68 bedrooms. The Cloverleaf parcel is just shy of four acres. It is upstream of Pond Village, a neighborhood of homes clustered around the historic Pilgrim Pond.

    This blue box stationed at the Chapel on the Pond at 17 Pond Road was the distribution and collection center for water test kits in Pond Village. (Photo Nancy Bloom)

    Water quality in Pond Village is not a new concern. “The Board of Health has long held concerns about the eutrophication of Pilgrim pond…, nutrient inputs to this area, and private wells in general,” Beebe wrote to the ZBA in a letter dated Oct 7. “It is important to distinguish between the concerns noted in the Pond Village letter and the proposed Cloverleaf proposal before the ZBA,” the letter continued [emphasis in original].

    Beebe’s reference to “the Pond Village letter” was about a public comment to the ZBA filed on Oct. 5, which included a cover letter signed by 77 residents who live near the Cloverleaf site and two appendices — one including new private well-water test results, and the other a 40-page report on nitrates in drinking water.

    The water test results may have been obtained through a private effort to distribute test kits based at the Chapel on the Pond in Pond Village. The Independent was unable to determine who had organized that effort.

    The 40-page report in nitrates was allegedly written by seven M.D.s and Ph.D.s in various specialties who have formed a group called Docs for Truro Safe Water. The report reviews new and recent studies on the connection between nitrates in drinking water and various cancers. It argues for a change in the regulatory standards for drinking water.

    Repeated attempts by the Independent to contact the Docs for Truro Safe Water for comment have been unsuccessful.

    The test results described in the Pond Village letter include 11 tests (out of a total of 27) in which the sample had more than 3 mg/L of nitrates, which is the board of health’s threshold of concern, said Beebe.

    “At 3 mg/L, we send out a letter to the property owner and let them know that that level is higher than you want,” said Beebe. “We then proceed with an education piece with the property owner” about mitigation, she added.

    To a great extent, mitigation is about finding and replacing failed septic systems.

    “These plans may include mandatory septic inspection and maintenance … reduction of fertilized areas, stormwater mitigation on public and private ways, and the requirement for private or clustered advanced wastewater treatment systems,” Beebe wrote.

    The developer’s rendering of the Cloverleaf affordable housing project on Highland Road in North Truro.

    “There’s about five cesspools in the [Pond Village area],” said Beebe. “About 8 percent of the entire town is still on cesspools. We have a multitude of triggers to catch those and help them convert to Title 5 systems.” (Title 5 is the current standard for residential septic systems and has been in place since 1995.)

    In September, Truro hired the Cape Cod Commission to do a watershed study of the Pilgrim Pond area. In addition to systematic well-water testing, the study will look at septic systems, runoff patterns, and possible funding sources for mitigation.

    Funding would be welcome, because septic systems aren’t cheap. Brian Baumgaertel, director of the state’s Alternative Septic System Test Center, said a residential system runs between $12,000 and $50,000.

    Most systems are upgraded only when the property is sold. Older houses that haven’t changed hands recently are more likely to have antiquated systems. A review of the Truro assessor’s records shows that the Pond Village area has a good mix of houses that were built or sold recently and houses that haven’t sold in decades.

    The ZBA put off any votes on the Cloverleaf project until its next meeting, scheduled for Thursday, Oct 22. After an Oct. 8 hearing that was consumed almost entirely by public comments, board members indicated they might hold votes at the beginning of the next meeting instead of the end.

    public health

    E. Coli Found in Wellfleet Town Water

    Many residents are missed by initial warning to boil water

    By

    WELLFLEET — The discovery of E. coli bacteria in the town’s public water supply led to a “boil water order” from the state on Saturday evening. Occupants of the 290 homes served by the system should boil tap water for at least one minute before drinking it, washing dishes, or brushing teeth with it. Restaurants are required to boil water for five minutes.

    The bacteria, which can cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, and headaches, were found in water samples taken on Sept. 24 and 25 by WhiteWater Inc. of Charlton, which manages Wellfleet’s municipal water system. The company said the problem should be corrected within three to seven days.

    That message is simple enough, but getting the information out to residents, property owners, and businesses has proved to be challenging.

    “It was not perfect by any stretch of the imagination,” said Police Chief Michael Hurley of the warning system. Hurley sent out alerts developed by CivicPlus, a technology company in Manhattan, Kan., which also created the town’s website.

    Leaks in Alert System

    But there were some big leaks in those alerts. First, you need to have signed up on the town website to receive them either by phone, by text message, or by email (or all three). Then, you need to have kept your contact information updated. People who had changed email addresses or phone numbers missed the boil water order issued on Saturday night.

    Also, those who signed up to get alerts by phone received an automated call saying there was important information “attached,” which obviously made no sense when referring to a phone call. Hurley said the software was supposed to translate the written notification into spoken words, but this particular message was too long.

    So, on Sunday, Sept. 27, CivicPlus advised officials to create a shorter explanation. That’s why everyone on the alert system received a marginally more coherent phone message on Sunday.

    Rebekah Eldridge, the water dept. clerk, said the message on Saturday was cryptic, and the one on Sunday was an improvement, but it still left some people more confused and suspicious of a hoax.

    The police dept. on Sunday got angry calls from residents who either didn’t get the information directly from the town or who found they had to click through several online links to get details. The process was clunky and confusing, Hurley said.

    “People were getting frustrated and lashed out, and it was a very stressful two days,” Hurley said.

    The main issue, Hurley said, is that the entire town staff was unprepared and untrained in the use of the emergency alert system.

    “The town got it from CivicPlus a few years ago, and to be quite honest, the time, the effort, and the training was never put in,” Hurley said. “We were supposed to be set up and ready to go, but we seem to manage by crisis.”

    290 Phone Calls

    Eldridge and Jim Hood, chair of the board of water commissioners, went to work on Sunday, personally calling all 290 property owners with hookups to the system to let them know of the danger. It took 12 hours, Eldridge said. And yet that effort still missed properties that have changed hands, or whose owners’ contact information had changed.

    Scott Castro, who in August purchased a condominium on Commercial Street, found out about the boil water order when the Independent, aware that he was new in town, called him on Monday, Sept. 28. He said he would have to talk to his 12-year-old daughter, since she often drinks from the tap.

    “I’m a little surprised at this,” he added, “It’s not like this is Flint, Mich. It sounds like a big town problem, not a little town problem.”

    Eric Smith, a WhiteWater project executive, would not say why the public water supply contained E. coli, which is an indicator that the water may be contaminated by human or animal waste. The bacteria are especially dangerous to infants, the elderly, and those with severely compromised immune systems.

    “We’re following all of the Mass. D.E.P. guidelines regarding the system,” Smith said.

    Stormwater runoff can contaminate public water, but there has not been much rain. It can also be caused by a failure in the water treatment system, according to the email sent via the alert system. Eldridge said they suspect it is a leak in a pipe somewhere, though she, too, was unsure.

    The system is being totally flushed and cleaned with a chlorine solution; then it will be retested, Eldridge said.

    In the meantime, Eldridge is trying to put to good use the 12 hours she spent finding the water system’s customers. She is creating an updated list and wants to be able to send out a massive group email should something like this happen again.

    To sign up for emergency alerts, go to: wellfleet-ma.regroup.com.

     

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