HAMILTON — Hamiltonians could safely turn on their water taps last night, following five anxious days of avoiding it. But as luck would have it, while one state-imposed restriction is being lifted, another is being imposed.
Residents and businesses have been forced to use bottled water since Saturday, based on a regularly scheduled test that indicated the town water supply was contaminated.
That prompted the state Department of Environmental Protection to order a ban on water used for cooking or drinking.
Now, it appears the test results were a mistake, and there was never anything wrong with the water.
The DEP late yesterday afternoon authorized the Water Department to lift its ban on water consumption, a prohibition that was instituted because the water was thought to contain high levels of perchlorate. The chemical is an inorganic compound that interferes with normal function of the thyroid gland and hinders development, particularly in fetuses, infants and young children.
Twelve samples taken from three locations around town were tested yesterday and found to contain less than either .3 parts per billion of perchlorate, or undetectable quantities, well below the state maximum of 2 parts per billion.
That makes it likely the original results were in error, Public Works Director John Tomasz said yesterday.
"It's great news," Selectman Bill Bowler said.
One town well, on School Street, was measured at 44 parts per billion, while the town's main water source, the Idlewood Water Treatment Plant, had 32 parts per billion, according to the first test done on Aug. 13.
The ban forced restaurants to discard foods that had been prepared using town water and residents to toss ice cubes made before last Friday.
Perchlorate is widely used as a solid fuel for rockets, missiles and fireworks, none of which are known to have ever been present near any town wells. The state began ordering testing for the compound in 2004, and it has been found only a handful of times in the hundreds of water systems statewide.
"It's very rare," Tomasz said, noting the state only requires testing for it once a year. If there was concern that it was widespread or likely to show up, more frequent tests would be required, he said.
Tomasz said he thinks the town will probably look to another lab for future perchlorate testing. He said he knows of another town that had a similar problem with the company, which he identified as Alpha Labs.
He also suspects businesses that lost business or were forced to dump food may be looking for compensation from the lab and its insurer.
Just as residents are free to open their indoor taps, they'll have to shut the ones outdoors. Recent dry weather has dropped water levels in the Ipswich River low enough that the DEP requires the town to impose a mandatory ban on sprinklers and irrigation systems.
The town already has a summerlong ban on daytime sprinkler use, but outdoor watering is now limited to handheld hoses and only between 5 p.m. and 9 a.m.
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