The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Drinking Water Program is seeing a spike in E. coli contamination in public water systems.
So far this year, it’s recorded more than 40 instances across the state, in schools, housing, hotels, campgrounds and other businesses and communities. Drinking Water Program manager Amy Lachance said that’s roughly four times the number recorded in all of 2022.
“It’s concerning in that it is quite a bit more than we have seen in previous years, but we still have the protocol in place that is designed to protect public health,” Lachance said.
She said protocols include boil water orders. Systems must also assess and address the source of the contamination.
E. coli is found in human and animal feces. Lachance said it’s unclear what’s causing the increase in contamination this year, but heavy rainfall that washes surficial contaminants into wells could be one reason, combined with hot temperatures that fuel bacterial growth.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
