Officials optimistic after recent New Market well tests

Only 11 of 96 New Market residents who volunteered to have their wells tested for E. coli contamination requested re-tests following treatments, Marschner said.

The initial request for testing came after an August New Market Town Council meeting during which Marschner discussed the town’s water area agreement with the county.

He said several residents had suspected their wells were contaminated with bacteria, and requested testing. Of the 96 wells tested in mid-August, 50 were found to contain coliform bacteria, which is usually harmless, but 20 were contaminated with E. coli, a species of coliform that can be harmful to humans, he said.

Seven retests were completed Monday, Marschner said, and five of those wells tested negative for the bacteria. The results made Marschner ‘‘cautiously optimistic” about the wells’ status. However, he said this sample only represented a little more than 10 percent of the wells initially tested, and could not be considered representative.

The reason for the smaller number of re-tests was probably because many of the concerned well owners were on vacation due to the Labor Day holiday or busy with back to school activities, he said.

After the initial tests in August, residents were advised to disinfect their wells with chlorine if the presence of E. coli was detected. If only coliform was present, they had the option of installing an ultraviolet light in the well, which would be sufficient to kill less-resilient bacteria.

While early results did indicate that the suggested treatment had been effective for the most part, Marschner said he would need to see more data before he could be certain.

Marschner said it was still too early in the testing to determine the exact cause of the contamination, but said the poor condition of some of the old wellheads could be a factor.

Roxanne Beal, of the Frederick County Health Department, also said the cause of the contamination was likely a result of poorly maintained or older wells. Coliform is present in the ground and can frequently be found in older wells, she added.

E. coli contamination might indicate the presence of animal or human waste, but this had yet to be determined. She said the majority of New Market was on a public sewer system, and contamination from septic systems could most certainly be ruled out.

Beal said that the Health Department was still assisting residents with chlorinating wells and then sampling the wells to insure that the bacteria had been killed. She said if a third round of testing still indicated the presence of E. coli, the wells may have to be reinforced or abandoned. The entire process would probably take about six to eight weeks, she said.

Mayor Winslow Burhans, III has said that the best solution to water contamination would be to bring county water lines into the town. New Market is one of only two towns in Frederick County that relies on well water; Burkittsville is the other.

New Market already had a water service agreement with the county. The town laid aside funding for the beginning of the project which will not be able to serve the entire town, but will serve those areas where need is greatest.

‘‘It’s a matter of getting the shovels in the ground,” Burhans said.

Marschner agreed that bringing Frederick County water service to the town was the best long-term solution to the E. coli contamination in the wells.

Well-disinfecting procedure:

Source: Frederick County Health Department