Oakland Water

The Town of Burrillville is working with the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) and Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) to address and remedy Oakland Association water concerns.

Tests revealed a slightly elevated level of certain man-made chemicals, called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), in the system’s drinking water. The following is some information provided by the Rhode Island Department of Health in their press release of October 2, 2017.

In early August, RIDOH's Center for Drinking Water Quality began working with a group of researchers at Brown University to conduct sampling at approximately 35 selected water systems to collect data on PFAS. The systems that were selected for this testing are located within one mile of a facility that could potentially contain these chemicals or may have in the past. These chemicals are currently unregulated in drinking water, but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently lowered the health advisory level for two PFAS [Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS)] to 70 parts per trillion (ppt) because of new findings on health effects.

Exceedances of this new health advisory were recorded during sampling at Oakland Association, Inc., which serves approximately 175 people. The sampling protocol calls for resampling whenever exceedances are identified. The three sample results collected from the system were 88 ppt, 69 ppt, and 114 ppt. The results were received between September 14th and September 29th.

See full press release on their website here.