City of New Britain Discloses Violation in Drinking Water Monitoring

The City of New Britain has disclosed that the State Department of Public Health notified the city that it, “violated drinking water monitoring and/or reporting requirements.”

“During summer 2023,” the city disclosed about the violation, “we did not monitor for the presence of synthetic organic chemicals (IOCs) in our reservoirs.”

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that Synthetic Organic Contaminants are referred to as “SOCs”, while “IOCs” refer to Inorganic Contaminants.

The announcement was included in the city’s annual report to the public on water quality in the city.

While the city maintains that, “We do not believe that missing this monitoring requirement had any impact on public health and safety since the finished water leaving the treatment plant was tested and no lOCs were detected,” it also disclosed that, “As a supplier of public drinking water, we are required to monitor the water quality of our water supply to ensure that it meets the current drinking water standards.”

“Failure to conduct monitoring and/or report results of such monitoring to the State Department of Public Health Drinking Water Section constitutes a violation,” the city’s notice states.

The city’s disclosure notes that, “We did not complete the monitoring or did not report the results for the requirement(s),”

Surface Water Inorganic Chemicals (WSF ID: 2151(Shuttle Meadow Reservoir); Monitoring Period: January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023)

Surface Water Inorganic Chemicals (WM: ID: 2153(Whigville Reservoir); Monitoring Period: January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023)

Surface Water Inorganic Chemicals (WSF ID: 2156(White Bridge Brook Diversion); Monitoring Period: January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023)

Surface Water Inorganic Chemicals (WSF ID: 2155 (Wasel Reservoir); Monitoring Period: January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023)

The city says that, “The reservoirs were the only areas affected,” and maintains that, “The water from these reservoirs was tested in April 2024 and met all mandated standards. We expect to return to compliance or resolve the situation by 4/27/2024.”