Frustrated Residents Still Boiling Water

WAREHAM, Mass. -- Wareham residents have been under a boil water order since E. coli was detected more than one week ago.

NewsCenter 5's Kelley Tuthill reported Thursday that the frustration level is rising. Clean water from the tap is something most of us take for granted -- unless you live in Wareham.

"When we do the dishes, we put bleach in the water and more in the rinse cycle just to be safe," resident David Fredrickson said.

Some residents have tried to keep their sense of humor while picking up their free gallons of water. Others have had it with the situation.

"It's been really tough. We had my niece's birthday. It was hard. It's difficult, but we're managing," another resident said.

The water department still doesn't know the source of the contamination, but officials said Tuesday's and Wednesday's tests came back clean.

"If today's samples come back clean and we can confirm no bacteria, we should be out of this by this weekend," Water Superintendent Michael Martin said.

In the meantime, school kids have to stay away from water fountains and use hand-sanitizing lotions. It's day 10 of the boil water order and, for some, frustrations are boiling over, as well.

"It's really tough. A lot of us weren't notified," another resident said.

"I wish there was more information," another resident said.

"We were notified at 8:30 and called the press at 9. It's on the town Web site, and we're handing out releases," Martin said.

The town has hired an engineering consultant to investigate why it happened and evaluate its response.

Wareham has already spent between $80,000 and $100,000 on things such as water distribution and testing. It has reserves and does not expect this to have any effect on rates.

The water department does not know exactly when it will be safe to drink the water again. The earliest would be sometime on Saturday.