Drinking Water Orders

Last updated: May 16, 2013 3:19 PM

Do Not Drink Orders

System PWS Type PWSID Town County Date Issued Portion Affected Reason
CIRCLE OF LEARNING-ROUTE 1 NTNC ME0092447 CARIBOU AROOSTOOK September 24, 2012 Entire system Acute Bacteria Contamination and High Nitrates
CAPTAIN NEMOS NC ME0016748 TREMONT HANCOCK September 6, 2012 Entire system Water Pump Down
MSAD 57 WATERBORO ELEM SCHOOL NTNC ME0112825 WATERBORO YORK June 22, 2010 Entire System high lead

Boil Water Orders

System PWS Type PWSID Town County Date Issued Portion Affected Reason
ATWOOD LOBSTER LLC NTNC ME0094353 SOUTH THOMASTON KNOX May 16, 2013 Entire system Chlorinator Malfunction
SCARBOROUGH GARDENS C ME0091416 SCARBOROUGH CUMBERLAND April 13, 2013 Entire system Well malfunction
MARSHWOOD ESTATES C ME0006735 ELIOT YORK October 30, 2012 Entire system Loss of Water Pressure
DUMMERS BEACH CAMPGROUND NC ME0003793 WELD FRANKLIN September 10, 2012 Entire system E Coli Positive
PRIDE MANUFACTURING #1 NTNC ME0094168 BURNHAM WALDO June 8, 2012 Entire system Total Coliform Positive
MAPLEWOOD MOBILE COURT C ME0002240 CHALRESTON PENOBSCOT October 17, 2011 Entire system E. coli positive

 

Do Not Use Orders

System PWS Type PWSID Town County Date Issued Portion Affected Reason

When an order is issued:

In general, an Order is issued if an event occurs which could introduce contaminants to the system (such as failure of chlorination equipment or increase in turbidity) or if the presence of fecal coliform and/or E. coli is detected during recheck sampling. An Order can be voluntarily imposed by the water system or issued by the DWP.

The Drinking Water Program has had a Boil Water Order policy in place for many years to help the Drinking Water Program and public water systems to make these important decisions. Recently, Drinking Water Program staff have been working on an updated policy that includes "Do Not Drink" and "Do Not Use" Orders. This updated policy is now known as the Drinking Water Order Policy.

Although much of the policy is very similar to the previous version, there have been some important changes that you should be aware of including:

  1. In many cases a Boil Water Order due to chlorination failure may be lifted simply by restoring the chlorination to the proper level.
  2. The new policy gives additional guidance on how to identify the risk of contamination entering the water system during a loss of pressure (main break, well pump failure). The policy also provides information on how to reduce and mitigate that risk so a Boil Water Order might not be needed.

Frequently Asked Questions about Coliform bacteria and Boil Water Orders

Guidance for eating establishments during and after a Boil Water Order (pdf file)

Boil Water Order Fact Sheet (pdf)

Boil Water Order Posting Template (pdf)

Do Not Drink Order Posting Template (pdf)

Do Not Use Order Posting Template (pdf)

Protecting Public Health During Chlorination Disinfection System Failures

Protecting Public Health During UV Disinfection System Failures

Responding to Loss of Pressure Events (Large Water Systems)

Responding to Loss of Pressure Events (Small Water Systems)

 

 

Last archive: May 1, 2013 8:57 AM