Boil Water Notice Now Lifted, Officials Say

UPDATE as of 4:30 p.m.

Information via Connecticut Water Company:

This is a message from Connecticut Water for customers who have been impacted by a boil water notice. The boil water notice has been lifted. Repeat water samples have confirmed that the water meets all state and federal safe drinking water guidelines and does not present a risk of E. coli contamination. You may return to normal use of your tap water.

We know that this incident was impactful to your lives, especially as residents of a thriving shoreline community during the summer. We want to be transparent with you about what happened and what we did about it so that you can continue to trust the water we deliver to you each day.

On late Friday, we were notified that one water sample at a tap in Essex indicated the presence of E. coli. Other water samples, including those at our well water sources, did not detect any E. coli bacteria. However, because E. coli can represent a serious health risk, Department of Public Health regulations required us to notify any potentially affected customers in two specific interconnected water systems related to that sample location.

We take public health seriously. While there was no indication of a widespread issue, it is important to us to follow public health guidelines and the direction of the Department of Public Health and issue a boil water notice while we re-tested the water. The results of those additional tests showed that this was an isolated incident and was specific to a localized issue at one tap in Essex.

While this boil notice was a great inconvenience, we prioritized the health and safety of our customers, and we believe that was the right thing to do.

We’d like to thank you, our customers, for your patience and understanding during this situation. We’d also like to thank the many employees who worked over this 24-hour period to provide clean water tankers, conduct additional water sampling, and communicate with customers and local officials.

If you have specific questions related to your water account, please reach out to us by phone at 1.800.286.5700 or email at customerservice@ctwater.com. We will resume normal business staffing on Monday at 8:00 am and can respond to your message at that time.

Original post: Message shared via the state of Connecticut's emergency alert system:

For Connecticut Water Company customers only: This message is to provide you with an update on the ongoing Boil Water Notice, which remains in effect for customer in Deep River, Essex, Haddam, Chester, Old Saybrook, Westbrook, Clinton, Madison and Guilford after one routine water sample detected the presence of E. coli.

We understand that this situation, while created out of an abundance of caution, is frustrating and is likely causing disruption to your weekend plans. We conduct over 120,000 routine water quality tests each year. This boil water order adheres to Department of Public Health mandate that we require you to boil your tap water while we re-test the water.

We have water tankers with free water available at John Winthrop Middle School in Deep River, the Westbrook Fire Department, and the I-95 commuter lot in Madison. Please bring your own clean jug for filling.

Please continue to boil your water for one minute prior to drinking. Bring your tap water to a boil for one minute, and then let it cool before consuming it, using it in food preparation, making ice, brushing teeth, or washing dishes. You can continue to use your tap water normally for all other uses such as laundry and bathing.

We will provide another update by 8:00pm tonight or as soon as any new information emerges. Thank you for your patience as we maintain our commitment to resolving this issue.