Exeter’s Water Quality Deemed Unsafe to Drink

Residents in the town of Exeter recently received a letter in the mail informing them about the quality of Exeter’s current water supply. Quarterly, the TTHM (Total Trihalomethanes: chloroform, bromoform, bromodichloromethane, and dibromochloromethane) in drinking water supply is monitored across the country.

The national standard for TTHM is 0.080 mg/L, but in the town of Exeter, our TTHM level is around 0.104 mg/L and has been at that level since the fall of 2015.

The letter sent to residents outlined a few of the risks of TTHM, stating that over many years, people may experience problems with their liver, kidneys or central nervous system and may have an increased risk of getting cancer.

Exeter’s annual Climate Action Day, which took place on April 27, brought Ph.D. candidate at Virginia Tech Siddhartha Roy to present the water crisis at Flint.

Roy was a student leader of a team that sampled Flint’s water supply and helped bring the story to light along with its many dimensions and complexities.

This included the science behind the Flint water crisis, the social justice and interactions between residents of flint and its government, as well as the politics of environmental regulation.

“This is New England—New Hampshire—this issue isn’t something that we’ve had trouble with in the past.”

Roy emphasized the importance of drinking water free of contaminants to all healthy, functioning communities. “It allows for a population to enjoy a healthy and sanitary lifestyle. And so bad water, especially carriers of toxins in significant concentrations of disease-causing microbes, can severely cripple communities,” he said.

“We need to be extra vigilant to ensure we continue to enjoy the luxury of safe water.”

Boarders at PEA might not be affected, but day students such as upper Kelly Lew have reason to be concerned.

“I’m mildly surprised, but not absolutely shocked that I was not aware of this until now. Hearing about all those pipes bursting last year and the presence of brown tap water in some dorms made me wary and curious,” she said.

Lew agreed with Roy on the importance of clean water in a community. “After listening to the speaker working in Flint, Michigan on Climate Action Day, I think the idea of environmental justice and responsibility is one that everyone should be thinking about,” she said. “Access to clean, safe water is increasingly becoming a pressing issue, so I think that it’s incredibly relevant to our community and the greater world.”

E-proctor and lower Emily Cardenas had only first heard of this issue when The Exonian explained the situation before her interview. She was immediately concerned hearing about it, seeing as the conditions could cause serious illness.

“I was not aware of this issue, which worries me even more because it begs the question as to how many people are actually aware of this problem.” Cardenas went on to stress the seriousness of the issue.

“Although it is not labeled as an emergency, it does not change the urgency of the matter,” Cardenas said.

E-proctor and lower Lara Galligani disapproved of the entire situation. “It’s terrible something like this is happening. I really hope they treat this as serious as it is—that it’s on their list of priorities,” she said.

“Perhaps we as Exonians might not be affected, but it’s just as relevant to us—we all live in the town of Exeter and should be worried for the day students and townspeople, too,” she continued.

Day student and lower Jamie Demopolous does not live in the town of Exeter but felt that the town of Exeter should be made more aware.

“I have never heard of this issue before and am a little disappointed that the town only notified some people,” he said.

“It affects the entire town—the risks of drinking this contaminated water should be clearly stated. Any risk to anybody’s health is extremely important.”

E-proctor and upper Issay Matsumoto believed that New England is fully capable of solving the issue and absolutely should, seeing what happened in Flint.

“We can’t have something like what happened in Flint, Michigan happen here in Exeter. This is New England—New Hampshire—this issue isn’t something that we’ve had trouble with in the past,” Matsumoto said.

Matsumoto emphasized the need to solve the issue, regardless of whether or not it was an immediate danger to the community.

“Although this might not seem like a serious threat, this obviously could turn into one, and I think it should be addressed. There should be more awareness in the community to fix this problem. Fix the water,” he said.

Currently, the Exeter Water Department is focused on temporarily switching its water treatment plant, in hopes of lowering of the TTHM levels in the next few months.

Lew encourages these steps to fix the drinking water and hopes that they keep the town of Exeter up to date on their progress. “Hopefully, the problem can be resolved soon, but as always, thinking both short term and long term is crucial, and the leaders of our town should keep that fact in mind.”