Health officials in Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts
have issued advisories this week cautioning that water sources
across the region might not be safe to drink and physical
contact could lead to rashes, sore throats and bacterial
infections.
The warnings follow storms that dumped more than a foot of rain
on some areas, prompting flash floods that inundated rivers and
streams and killed at least seven people in the region. Run off
from the storms has also polluted local waterways and wells with
contaminants from fuel tanks, farms and flooded homes, officials
said.
"If you’re in a flooded area and get your water from a well or
spring, assume your water is contaminated," the Vermont
Department of Health warned as part of its flood recovery plan.
Well water is not currently recommended for drinking, cooking,
washing food or for brushing teeth until testing can be done,
the health department said.
Because of Vermont's heavy concentration of dairy and produce
farms, it is likely that large amounts of pesticides and other
chemical contaminants were washed into local waterways, said Ben
Truman, a spokesperson for the Vermont Department of Health.
"Even though they usually do a good job, most of the farms were
hit pretty badly, so whatever was on the soil, from manure to
pesticides ... that ends up in the lakes and streams," he said.
In Massachusetts, the city of Holyoke said this week that
millions of gallons of discharge consisting of rainwater and
untreated sewage or partially treated sewage had leaked into the
Connecticut River.
City pipes in western Massachusetts were designed to open into
the river in the event of severe overflow instead of into homes
or streets.
As New England's longest river, the Connecticut River runs
through Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont
and provides 70 percent of all the fresh water entering Long
Island Sound, according to the Connecticut River Conservancy.
Boil water advisories are in effect across much of Vermont, New
Hampshire, and parts of Massachusetts.
(Reporting by Rachel Nostrant; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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