Wareham's water system recently violated a drinking water standard when it was discovered that five of the 35 samples taken by the Wareham Fire District Water Department showed the presence of total coliform bacteria.

Though the incident was not an emergency and has since been resolved, the department reported the violation and how they went about correcting the situation as required by law. Residents would have been notified immediately had the violation been an emergency, according to Wareham Water Department officials.

The department found samples with positive coliform bacteria on October 24 and 26. The samples were negative for E. coli. The Bourne Hill tank where the samples were obtained from was isolated, disinfected, and remained off-line over the following weekend. The tank was placed back in service on October 31.

Sixteen samples were collected on November 1 at the Bourne Hill tank and at upstream and downstream locations. All samples tested absent for coliform.

Coliform bacteria are generally not harmful themselves and are naturally present in the environment, officials said.

"When you sit down at the dinner table you're probably wolfing down coliform," Water Department Superintendent Mike Martin said.

Coliform bacteria are used as an indicator that other potentially harmful bacteria may be present. They are also a sign that there could be a problem with the system's treatment and distribution system. The standard for presence of total coliform bacteria is one positive sample per month.

"It's not a good thing, but it happens from time to time," Martin said of the increased number of coliform positive samples.

Whenever the department detects coliform bacteria in any sample, it does follow-up testing to see if other bacteria of greater concern, such as fecal coliform or E. coli, are present. The department did not find any of these bacteria in the subsequent testing and further testing showed the problem has been resolved, according to officials.

The department cautioned that residents do not need to boil water or take other corrective actions, but if they have specific health concerns or compromised immune systems, they should seek advice from a health care provider. For more information, call the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800426-4791.