Tests Reveal No Water Contamination

BLACKSTONE, Mass. -- The town of Blackstone lifted a water ban Wednesday afternoon after tests revealed the water supply was not contaminated when the water tower was broken into Monday night.

Officials told residents to continue boiling water intended for personal use in case E-coli got into the water when the system was being purged.

"The tests have shown that there is no evidence of contamination from the water tank. Also, every preliminary test has shown that everything is negative and that our system is OK," said Blackstone Town Manager Ray Houle.

NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper reported that investigators said three local teens climbed the Bellingham Road tower and caused a lot of property damage but did not pollute the town's water.

"The Blackstone Police Department arrested two male minors and charged them with trespassing, which is a misdemeanor; with malicious destruction of property over $250, which is a felony; with tampering with the public water supply and water supply polluting, which is also felony," Houle said.

A teen girl was also arrested and charged with trespassing.

As a precautionary purging of Blackstone water lines continued Wednesday, the arrest of the teens brought a lot of relief to residents. Stores and schools remained closed Wednesday.

"Kids will be kids, but in a situation like this, I think they have to take a step back and realize that this is a million-gallon water supply for the town and it certainly jeopardized the health and the well-being of the entire community," Blackstone police Lt. Gregory Gilmore said.

Investigators said the mysterious bucket found where the intruders broke in was probably not filled with chemicals.

"We don’t have any reason at this particular time to think that the bucket had anything to do with it. We feel it was probably left over from the construction of the tower," Houle said.

Donald Simoneau, of the Norwood-based Longwatch Co., said the company has the security answer for isolated water supply towers -- video transmissions over old radio or telephone lines.

"It is transmitted over the legacy networks that are in place that have been built for years to monitor and manage these remote facilities but were never built for video surveillance. Our company, our new technology addresses that very problem for water providers," he said.

Simoneau said the system could be installed at the Blackstone tower for less than $10,000.

The teens were taken to Worcester Juvenile Court for arraignment.