Jun 26, 2008 1:53 pm US/Eastern
Milford Residents Struggle With Dirty Water
MILFORD (WBZ) ―
There are questions and concerns over the drinking water in Milford.
Many people are seeing red, brown, and yellow in their water and they feel the water company is tap dancing around the problem.
The tap water at the MacDonald house is usually clear but over the past couple of weeks the MacDonald's and some of their neighbors say their water periodically has looked like iced tea. William MacDonald says his tastes like sulfur.
The MacDonald's water filters are brown and their water company has given them Red-B-Gone for their laundry.
The problem is not unique to this neighborhood.
Across the town, at least 30 to 40 households have similar complaints.
A primary source of their water is the Charles River which is full of tannins from leaves and other organic material.
Henry Papuga, the manager of the investor-owned Milford Water Company, says the water is safe to drink. However, the company did violate lead and manganese standards last year.
Results from samples taken at the MacDonald house and a neighbor's home should be available within a couple of days.
"By our overzealous attempt to leave water in the reservoir for the summer and fall months, we took more water out of the Charles River and didn't blend it adequately; so, we actually created a discolored water problem for most of the community," Papuga said.
Whatever the reason for the discoloration, residents are more interested in a solution than an explanation and want the problem cleared up soon.
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