Town will test water at Folly Cove for possible contamination.
ROCKPORT — The Board of Health will conduct additional water quality testing on its septic system this summer to ensure there is no contamination in wetlands and tidelands near Folly Cove.
“I am concerned about possible contamination of nearby wetlands and tidelands,” said Bill Thoms in a statement to the board at its Jan. 31 meeting.
Thoms lives on Washington Street, within the watershed area that drains into the ocean at Folly Cove.
He also asked for testing in the nearby seawater in Folly Cove.
The board agreed to have the water tested in the cove as well as the streams in that area.
“That’s why at a time of high rain fall we’ll sometimes close the beach for two days.” The Board of Health regularly tests beaches and public swimming areas in town; Thoms, however, is asking for testing in an area that is not a public swimming area.
“Testing should include measurement of fecal coliform, Enterococci, and E. coli bacteria,” he wrote.
Results will be available to the public on the town website.
Those 50 houses weren’t connected to the town sewer system because of cost, according to Wedmore.