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By Kaitlin Lewis

Night Reporter

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A town in southwestern Massachusetts has lifted a "Do-Not-Use" warning for some residents' water supply.

The city of West Springfield said in a notice shared on its website Tuesday that the state's Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) implemented the warning following an investigation into an issue with the drinking water around Heywood Avenue. Any residents under the warning are ordered not to use their tap water "for any type of consumption" until the investigation is completed.

Ed Coletta, press secretary for MassDEP, told Newsweek that West Springfield's water department received a complaint on Tuesday about an "oily substance" in the tap water at a nonresidential building on Heywood Avenue. City officials responded by "flushing the hydrant nearest the buildings on Heywood Avenue that were reported as impacted," and added that there "was visible sheen in the water coming from the hydrant."

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Water samples collected by West Springfield and MassDEP officials and submitted for testing found the presence of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, in the samples collected from the impacted hydrant. Coletta noted that the VOCs levels were "well below health standards."

Through the investigation, city and state officials also identified "an unprotected cross-connection" at one of the first impacted buildings on Heywood Avenue. The cross-connection was determined to be the source, Coletta said in an email.

As of Thursday evening, the Do-Not-Use order was lifted in West Springfield.

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Reichelt also told WWLP that state officials "spent most of [Tuesday] running the water through the hydrants, and flushing the system...and they haven't seen anything that is visible anymore in the water but because of the state's orders...we can't use the water."

Below is a list of areas that were placed under the Do-Not-Use order, including any residences or businesses on the following streets, per the city's notice. A map of the affected area can also be found here.

• Lowell Street
• Windsor Street
• Bosworth Street
• Baldwin Street
• Norman Street
• Allston Avenue
• Heywood Avenue
• Roanoke Avenue
• Cold Spring Avenue
• Colony Road
• York Street
• Exposition Terrace
• Exposition Avenue
• River Street
• Parts of Memorial Avenue

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Residents who were impacted by the order were able to access bottled water at the West Springfield Fire Department station at 44 Vane Deene Avenue. Showers were also opened to impacted residents at the Sady Pool entrance located at 425 Piper Road, city officials said.

Update 07/26/24, 3:45 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional comment from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

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