Now, for the fourth time in five years, a boil water advisory has been issued to most North Kingstown residents.
Residents in the Slocum and Saunderstown areas, as well as the Rhode Island Port Authority have been exempted from the advisory.
The town began chlorinating the water last Wednesday, after numerous tests throughout the month of June showed the presence of coliform.
However, follow-up tests revealed there to be no sign of fecal coliform, which is a bacteria caused by animal or human waste and could cause diarrhea, nausea and headaches.
The bacteria could be especially dangerous for infants, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.
On July 22, following another round of testing in the low service area, which traverses the area from Hamilton/Allenton Road north into Quonset and covers about 72 percent of the town's water customers, a second sample collected from inside the Quidnessett Fire Station on North Quidnessett Road tested positive for fecal coliform bacteria.
"We sample every week," said North Kingstown's water director Susan Licardi. "In June we had a couple of hits. In July there was nothing, and then boom."
According to a memorandum from the town, the North Kingstown Department of Water Supply anticipates that the wells will be rid of the bacteria "once an adequate chlorine residual is established in the distribution system."
On Monday, as town officials were in the process of taking additional samples, Licardi said residents would probably have to boil their water for at least a few more days.
"The earliest we'll know something is Thursday," she said.
On Tuesday, the shelves that store bottled water at Dave's Marketplace on Tower Hill Road were half full with an untouched pallet ready to be unloaded.
Store manager John Eddy said the demand started getting heavy early on Monday morning.
"We've got a back room full of this stuff and there's more on the way," said Eddy, who noted that the store has temporarily stopped giving out complimentary coffee because of the bacteria. "Even when the problem is fixed, I still think we'll be a good water store because of the way the chlorine makes the water taste."
At Monday night's town council meeting, Town Manager Richard Kerbel said residents were informed of the advisory Sunday via an area-wide recorded message.
However, he added that there were some residents who didn't receive a call.
"It's not perfect," Kerbel said of the message system. "Some received calls in the late afternoon but some didn't receive calls at all."
While much of the conversation revolved around the effectiveness of the chlorine at Monday night's meeting, council member Suzanne Henseler pressed Kerbel about the effectiveness of the water system itself.
"How do we know that's going to be enough?" she asked. "When is the last time we looked at the infrastructure?"
Kerbel answered that there was a replacement program in place and projects such as the Juniper Hill water tank replacement is proof that the town is taking the issue seriously.
As for what caused the positive results, Licardi said on Monday that she was still unsure.
"In the past we've had specific reasons why the bacteria showed up. We haven't had that in this case," she said. "Bacteria is everywhere but it's somewhat seasonal. I do lose a lot of sleep in August because that's when we typically see problems but this was very much a surprise."
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Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation.
For daily updates or for more information go to the town's web site at www.northkingstown.org and click on the water department's page, or call 268-1520.
