Officials report improving Millville water readings; committee, select board discuss timing to return students to building

Select Board and school committee members spent substantial time in the March 7 public forum updating each other and the public on ongoing water testing at Millville Elementary.

A Select Board representative summarized recent sampling results and the district’s bottled‑water policy. She said haloacetic acid and trihalomethane levels have been below the regulatory thresholds in recent months and that the district provided bottled water as a precaution until consecutive quarterly averages demonstrate the water system is reliably below thresholds. She described the state’s averaging method by quarter and the numeric thresholds that produce a quarter average: an example threshold discussed was 91 for haloacetic acids and 143 for trihalomethanes in the relevant calculation approach. Officials said March results will complete the needed quarterly data and that if March remains within the lower range, the district likely will not need to continue water notices.

Committee and town members also discussed operational improvements — added chlorine monitoring and an automated shutoff — and the history of bottled‑water provision and billing between the towns and district. Several speakers emphasized the priority of returning children to Millville Elementary when the water data meet state requirements, while also noting the need for consistent multi‑quarter results to avoid repeated on‑and‑off notices.

The committee agreed to continue monitoring, to review March results once available and to coordinate next steps with town officials and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health guidance.