OXFORD — Harrison Elementary School students are continuing to drink bottled water for the sixth week as officials continue to try to find and treat the source of coliform bacteria discovered in the school well.
Facilities Director Dave Marshall told the Oxford Hills School District Board of Directors at its Monday meeting that the Harrison school’s 400-foot deep well was shocked with chlorine Friday and will be retested Wednesday if the chlorine residues are at a low enough level.
“We’re hoping to get all negative results in on our tests,” he said.
The state requires five negative tests for the water to be considered contaminant free, according to Marshall.
The school is not under a “boil water” or “do not drink” order by the state.
Coliform bacteria is the most frequently cited contaminant nationwide, according to an Associated Press investigation on school water supplies. The results were released Sept. 25. The contaminant is most apparent at schools with wells, according to the report. About eight to 11 percent of schools nationwide are on wells.
Harrison is one of four schools in the Oxford Hills School District that has well water. The other three are Otisfield, Waterford and Hebron elementary schools, Marshall said.
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