Some Islanders missed water testing by town

A number of Center residents eligible for water testing who had indicated their desire to participate in the effort, have never been placed on the list.

People on a social media site indicated they had mailed back the cards to participate, but were never scheduled.

Councilwoman Meg Larsen said some responses were mailed without postage and were received too late to be included. The purpose of the program was not only to alert residents to the quality of their water with detailed reports, but provide the town with a baseline indication of how grave the problem is in the area.

For those whose water was tested, full reports will be sent, but the town will only receive area-wide data, not house-by-house information.

The aim for the town is to create a study; it’s expected re-testing will be scheduled at appropriate intervals to determine if there are any trends or changes over time, Ms. Larsen said.

There is no immediate plan for new testing, but that could change, Ms. Larsen said.

Tests were conducted at 166 properties by GNS/Mermaid operated by Gregory Nissen and Amanda Clark. The tests were paid by real estate transfer tax money that had gone to the Water Quality Improvement Advisory Board.