North Attleboro rescinds boil water advisory, says lab error to blame for positive bacteria samples

NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. — Just a day after a boil water advisory was issued in North Attleboro, town officials say a mistake in the lab erroneously marked raw samples as testing positive for bacteria.

On Tuesday afternoon, Town Manager Michael Borg said the DPW was notified that additional raw water samples collected from the town’s four wells tested negative for enterococci. As such, the boil water advisory previously instated was lifted.

“We would like to assure our community that our raw water samples have been thoroughly tested and that our water is safe for consumption,” Town Manager Borg said. “We would like to thank our residents for their cooperation and patience during our ongoing boil water advisory, and our town officials and the DEP for working diligently to resolve this issue.”

Enterococci are indicators of the presence of fecal material or other disease-causing agents in water.

On Monday, raw water samples were collected from the town and sent to a lab for testing after a positive presence of enterococci was found. The samples were sent to a different lab for testing and officials now believe that the initial raw water samples tested positive for enterococci due to a lab error, and they never contained enterococci to begin with.

In light of the resent announcement, the Department of Public Works would like to offer the following tips:

· Cold Water Faucets: Run until the water feels cold, one minute or more, before drinking, brushing your teeth, or using it for food preparation. If you have a single-lever faucet, set it to run the cold water first. This will flush out any lead or copper that may have leached in from your home’s piping.

· Hot Water Faucets: To clear hot-water pipes and water heaters of untreated water, change all faucets to hot water and flush for at least:

o 15 minutes for a typical household 40-gallon hot-water tank

o 30 minutes for an 80-gallon hot water tank or larger

· Dishwashers: Run the dishwasher empty once after flushing hot water pipes and water heaters.

· Humidifiers: Discard any water used in humidifiers, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machines, oral, medical or health care devices. Rinse the device with clean water.

· Food and baby formula: Discard baby formula and other foods prepared with water on the day or days of the boil order. (If unsure of the dates, contact your water department.)

· Refrigerator water-dispensing machine: Flush with at least one quarter of water. If unsure of your dispenser’s capacity, refer to manufacturer specifications.

· Ice cubes: Empty automatic ice dispensers of ice made during the boil order and run through a 24-hour cycle.

Residents with questions can contact the North Attleborough Department of Public Works at 508-695-7790.

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