Sewage into Lake Update

July 28, 2005
By Richard Nangle
TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Lake Quinsigamond tests find water safe

Right after spill, bacteria levels high

SHREWSBURY— The water is considered safe now, but in the immediate aftermath of last week’s sewage spill the bacteria levels in parts of Lake Quinsigamond were as much as 20 times in excess of state water quality standards.

Massachusetts bathing beaches standards require that no single water sample of E. coli exceed 235 colonies per 100 milliliters. The day after last week’s spill of 10,000 gallons of raw sewage, one sample recorded 4,611 colonies. That was at Ramshorn Cove. A sample at Regatta Beach, which was closed immediately following the spill, came in at 2,419 colonies. All of the beaches along the lake were closed following the spill. They have since been reopened following repeated tests.

Several other samples were well above the state standard, but more recent tests show the entire lake is now safe for both swimming and boating, according to Nancy Allen, the town’s director of public health.

“It was high enough that it could have caused illness,” Ms. Allen said.

Swimmers who come in contact with water that has high levels of coliform bacteria risk infection to the eyes, ears, nose, throat and gastrointestinal system.

Ms. Allen released the coliform findings to the Lake Quinsigamond Commission last night. She said the hot weather in the days after the spill helped kill off the bacteria and last night’s rain further diluted the pollution.

“Somehow Worcester found the wherewithal to stop the flow from that pipe as quick as can be expected,” she said.

The spill will impede efforts to kill off the weeds that grow in a number of sections of the lake, she said. “All in all I think we came through this pretty good,” said Nicholas Pepper, a member of the commission.

Commission Chairman A. Wayne Sampson, the town’s police chief, said more spills are likely unless Worcester replaces the sewer line that runs near the lake. A 1990 break in the line poured 15 million gallons of raw sewage into the lake.

Worcester officials believe corrosion caused the break in the 24-inch concrete and steel pipe near the Route 9 bridge, which was installed in 1952.

With a system replacement cost that could reach $100 million, Chief Sampson said, residents along the lake will have to continue to live with the possibility of future sewage spills.

source: www.telegram.com