The Somerville City Council is asking for an update on what plans may be in place to deal with any potential water contamination problems that may arise in the future.

By Jim Clark

An order was put forward and approved at the the latest regular meeting of the Somerville City Council asking for the Director of Health and Human Services to report to the Council on the plan for an emergency response to the increased risk of disruption to the potable water supply due to water contamination from strong storms caused by climate change.

Speaking on the matter, Councilor At-Large Mary Jo Rossetti, the sponsor of the order, told those in attendance at the meeting, “As my colleagues know, there was a recent forum where there were questions asked of our members to respond to. One of them struck a chord with me and that’s why this order came forward, as a result of one of the questions in that questionnaire that we were asked to look at. This question was drafted by a Somerville resident and a Cambridge physician. They bring to light an important matter that I didn’t know the answer to. I want to be assured that we have a plan in place. So I would hope that this would be referred to Public Health and Public Safety, where we could hear from Director Kress and be assured that there is a plan.”

Councilor At-Large Mary Jo Rossetti sponsored the order asking for information about a possible response plan for dealing with potential water contamination issues.

Councilor At-Large William A. White added his thoughts on the issue saying, “I was just thinking because with Public Works and Public Utilities we discuss a lot about the sewer and it’s the Mass MWRA that provides us with the water and I’ve never heard of any instances of there being any problems with the water supply piping, it’s the sewer piping. So, I did see that question but I guess it does make sense maybe to take a look at it. You see, you get your infiltration when it goes within the sewer system because of the capacity and the inflow. But I believe our water pipes were replaced, especially because of the lead situation. So, we haven’t seen any, but it doesn’t preclude looking at it. And also the thing would be maybe they should look at the MWRA supply of water because there could be a problem not necessarily related to us but to the MWRA which could affect us as well, so that makes sense to look at it.”

The order was subsequently referred to the Public Health and Public Safety departments for further action.