By Carol Britton Meyer

During Wednesday afternoon’s meeting of the Weir River Water System commissioners, the company that manages the distribution system said last week’s discolored water issue remains under investigation.

Veolia Regional Vice President John Oatley named several contributing factors, including extreme heat leading to increased demand for water on June 19; the fact that many people were at home since it was a holiday – causing higher water usage; a localized break in a 76-year-old Leavitt Street water main between Main and Short streets; the need for additional system maintenance and infrastructure upgrades; and other factors “unknown at this time.”

The Hingham Select Board serves as the water commission, as the town purchased the company from Aquarion in 2019. Chair Joseph Fisher apologized for what he called the “unacceptable” discoloration of the water, stating that the board “intends to get to the bottom of our and customers’ concerns.”

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The three-hour meeting, held at 2 p.m. in Hingham, focused on a review of the discolored water in Hull, Hingham, and North Cohasset. During the public comment period, a Cohasset resident expressed appreciation to Hull Fire Chief Chris Russo for his continuous “play by play” updates posted on the Hull Emergency Management Facebook page.

He and others who are among the 300 Cohasset residents served by WRWS found those posts helpful. Veolia officials acknowledged that communication with all customers needs improvement.

According to the company, the increased demand caused the water level in the Turkey Hill water tank in Hingham to drop four feet more than usual, stirring up sediment in the tank. The iron and manganese deposits in the water tank, and in the pipes in the distribution system throughout Hull, caused the water to turn brown in many houses. Residents reported dark-colored water in their sinks, toilets, and washing machines, staining appliances and laundry that came in contact with the brown liquid.

The water company said testing indicated that the water was safe for drinking, but recommended that it not be used to mix baby formula. Many Hull residents complained on social media about the lack of communication from the water company about the situation, and expressed frustration with not being able to shower, drink tap water, or make ice.

WRWS sponsored distribution of bottled water to residents in Hingham and Hull throughout the weekend, and restaurants conducted extra filtration of the water used for cooking and shipped in bags of ice in order to serve their customers.

Hull Select Board member Brian McCarthy attended the meeting as a member of the WRWS Citizen Advisory Board, along with Hull’s director of wastewater operations, John Struzziery, who also is a member.

“Water is one of our most precious resources, and we often take it for granted,” Struzziery said. “Multiple aspects need to be considered. We still don’t know what’s going on. We all need to be part of a better communication and response plan.”

McCarthy expressed concern that “a lot of elderly people who are not on social media may not have had access to [the WRWS and Veolia updates] and may not have been aware of the free bottled water distributions. We have to be concerned about our most vulnerable citizens.”

Hingham Select Board member William Ramsey asked what steps are in place now to prevent a recurrence when another heat wave occurs, or during high usage periods, such as the upcoming Fourth of July weekend.

“I’m not going to say this will never happen again,” Oatley responded, while at the same time acknowledging that Veolia now has “a heightened awareness” moving forward, and may add additional staff for the holiday.

“The discolored water can’t be attributed to one specific thing,” he said. “We don’t know just yet. It’s still under investigation.”

Christopher Haraden contributed to this report.

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