WEST PARIS – Twenty houses in West Paris are showing higher than allowed levels of copper in their drinking water in tests done by the local water district.

The finding comes from a routine tests of the public water supply for contaminants. The tests showed a concentration of 3.1 milligrams per liter of copper. The acceptable level of copper in public drinking water supplies is 1.3 milligrams per liter.

The results from the August test are not considered an emergency and there is no need to use alternative water supplies such as bottled water.

“Let your water run for five seconds and it’s all cleared up,” explained Phil Edmunds, a member of the West Paris Water District.

Edmunds said the presence of copper in the water supply has been an ongoing problem because the houses being tested at random are normally older downtown buildings that have copper pipes. Because the state requires the testing to be done on water that has been sitting for six hours, Edmunds said the copper invariably shows up at a high rate.

The problem is, he said, that the state has no resolution. Chemicals have been used, most recently soda ash, to remove the copper from the water but nothing has worked, he said.

Lead and copper are tested every six months, but if the town passes two tests in a row it would only have to test for copper and lead once a year and if it passes that, it would only have to be tested once every three years, Edmunds said.

“It’s getting a handle on it,” he said. “It’s not the water system. It’s in each person’s house.”

“We’ve used sodium silicate and lime. It’s not really working. Nobody knows what to do,” he said of other chemicals the water district has used to try to get rid of the high copper content.

While there is no immediate threat to people, water district members said some people could experience gastrointestinal distress over a relatively short period of time. And people who drink higher than acceptable levels of copper over the years could suffer liver or kidney damage. People with Wilson’s disease should consult their doctor.

The town’s one well services 225 customers. The remaining 1,700 residents drink water from private wells.

A notice has been sent to the households serviced by the public water supply and is being posted in local newspapers.