Aquarion Water to pay $13,500 for Oxford potassium hydroxide leak
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Aquarion's Oxford office
Aquarion Water Co., a subsidiary of Eversource Energy of Boston, will pay a penalty of $13,500 for violating drinking water regulations in the Town of Oxford, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection said on Tuesday.
The violation occurred in June 2021 when a faulty valve allowed eight gallons of potassium hydroxide, a chemical in drinking water used to prevent corrosion, into the drinking water. A pH probe failed to detect the problem as well. It would have normally caused the system to stop pumping the water, to prevent the high-pH water from reaching customers.
After a customer complained of slippery water and a skin rash, the company found pH values of 10 to 11 in the water system. Normal pH levels in the Oxford drinking water system are 7 to 7.5.
In addition to the monetary penalty, Aquarion must hire a third-party vendor to evaluate chemical feed systems at the company’s plants in Oxford and Millbury. It will hire a third party to review the company’s standard operating procedures related to chemical feed systems.
“Proper operations and maintenance of components to critical chemical feed systems such as a pH analyzer at water treatment facilities are essential to ensure the delivery of safe drinking water to its users,” said Mary Jude Pigsley, director of MassDEP’s Central Regional Office in Worcester. “It is important to test the components routinely and document those test results to ensure the safety system works as intended.”
Aquarion is based in Bridgeport, Conn. and serves approximately 700,000 people in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire, according to its website.
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