LISBON, Maine — The "do not drink water" order can be lifted in Lisbon after the public water supply tested well within safe limits for consumption and use, the Maine Center for Disease Control said Friday afternoon in a news release.
The safety order was initially issued Thursday for Lisbon, Lisbon Village, and Lisbon Falls.
The water department cited unsafe drinking water conditions as the reason for the order and advised residents to avoid any type of consumption, including brushing teeth, making ice cubes, and food preparation.
Sen. Jeff Timberlake, R-Androscoggin, told NEWS CENTER Maine crews were working on filters when sludge somehow backwashed into the system, which state officials said put the water supply at risk for arsenic exposure.
Arsenic can get into someone's body through water, food, or an open wound, and can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach bleeding, brain swelling, fast, or irregular heart rhythm, low blood pressure, unconsciousness, or death, according to the water department.
Boiling water tainted by arsenic does not make the water safe for consumption, Maine Department of Health and Human Services press secretary Lindsay Hammes told NEWS CENTER Maine.
Timberlake said the entire system has been flushed, and officials tested the water again, with samples being sent to a lab in New Hampshire.
By Friday afternoon, Maine CDC officials confirmed a test was expedited, and the results did in fact fall within safe limits.
"The State’s Drinking Water Program received those test results this afternoon – Friday, August 30, 2024 – which show the presence of arsenic at 1-3 parts per billion, well below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s requirement of no more than 10 parts per billion for public drinking water systems," the news release stated.
The town has been working with the water department, Maine CDC, and emergency management officials.
The town offered bottled water to residents Friday, where several residents expressed their concerns.
Cheryl, a Lisbon resident who didn't want to share her last name, came to pick up some water. She told NEWS CENTER Maine the town should have found a way to get information out faster. Officials had originally posted the alert online Thursday, but Cheryl said she didn't find out until the next day.
“I got up [Friday] morning, took a 20-minute shower, brushed my teeth, and drank two pots of coffee, and we’re not supposed to be drinking the water,” she said. "How can this happen?"
The Maine CDC encouraged anyone who was concerned about possible exposure to arsenic or has questions about the health effects from arsenic exposure to call Northern New England Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222.
State health officials also said in the release that samples were being tested of the sludge itself to "identify the level of arsenic concentration and help estimate the level of exposure during the release, which has now been mitigated."
Those results are expected to be released sometime next week.