Section 385-840-13 - Imminent Hazard to Public Health - Boil Water Order1.Boil Water Order. A Boil Water Order shall immediately require the supplier of water to complete consumer notification of the threat to public health.2. A Boil Water Order may be issued when, in the judgment of the Board, a threat to the public health may exist from the presence of pathogenic microorganisms in a Private Water System. A Boil Water Order may be issued without a prior public hearing and served on the supplier of water, Designated Operator, owner, Licensee, manager, or employee, by personal service, in person, certified mail, or by any other method if such service is accepted. At the written request of a Licensee or Designated Operator, a public hearing must be held on the Boil Water Order within thirty (30) days of the receipt of the request.3. The Board is authorized to issue Boil Water Orders to any Licensee to comply with the requirements of these regulations, and is further authorized to petition the courts to compel compliance with such orders.4. Upon receipt of information that there is an imminent endangerment to public health due to the actual or threatened existence of biological contaminants in a Private Water Supply, as indicated by the presence of pathogenic microorganisms or the presence of indicator organisms that indicates the potential presence of pathogenic microorganisms, or when, in the judgment of the Board, such a condition exists or is likely to exist in a Private Water Supply and will result in a serious risk to public health, the Board shall initiate Boil Water Order procedures. Upon determination by the Board that conditions exist that would warrant the issuance of a Boil Water Order, the Designated Operator of the Private Water System will be immediately notified of the determination. Upon notification by the Board of the Boil Water Order, the Designated Operator of the Private Water System must immediately implement the requirements of the Boil Water Order system-wide, or as otherwise directed by the Board, until such time as the Board makes the determination that the Boil Water Order may be lifted. A.Boil Water Order Procedures(1) The Board will provide the Boil Water Order to the Licensee and Designated Operator, owner, manager, or other responsible individual by telephone, electronic/digital notification, facsimile, or in person, or by any other means for immediate distribution to consumers.(2) If the Board is unable to contact an appropriate person, then the Board's staff may distribute notice and the Boil Water Order to consumers within 24 hours of the Board's issuance of a Boil Water Order.(3) The Board will follow up by sending the Boil Water Order and other requirements in writing, via first class and certified mail, to the Designated Operator and the Licensee, or other appropriate representative of the water system.(4) Nothing in these Boil Water Order procedures absolves the supplier of water of the obligation to provide appropriate public notification to their consumers or from compliance with these rules.B. When a Boil Water Order is issued by the Board, the Designated Operator, the Licensee, or other appropriate representative of the water system shall appropriately notify consumers immediately, no later than twenty-four (24) hours from its issuance.C. Notification of the Boil Water Order may be accomplished by publishing it in a daily newspaper of general circulation in the area the water system serves; by announcing it on local radio; by announcing it on television; by posting it in conspicuous places (i.e. employee and community bulletin boards, bathrooms, entrance doors of an establishment, and other appropriate places); by hand-delivering it to each consumer; or by other methods approved by the Board.The Board may require any combination of the above forms of notification that it deems necessary to sufficiently inform all consumers of water of the Boil Water Order.D. The following language shall be included in all Boil Water Order notices distributed by the system: Due to the possibility of unsafe water, Private Water System users are directed to Boil All Water for at least one minute at a rolling boil before drinking, making ice cubes, washing foods, brushing teeth, or engaging in any other activity involving the consumption of water. The Order shall remain in effect until further notice.
Questions regarding this notice may be directed to the operator of the private water system at:
(Please provide the following information)
Name of Contact Person
Name of Community
Telephone #
or to the State of Maine Manufactured Housing Board at (207) 624-8612.
E. The Board may lift the Boil Water Order if it determines that the imminent endangerment to public health has been remedied. Prior to lifting the Boil Water Order, the Board will require the water system to take the appropriate number of water samples.F. All samples must test negative for E. Coli and Total Coliform in order for the Board to lift the Boil Water Order.02-385 C.M.R. ch. 840, § 13