Attleboro mayor: No evidence online rumors about water loss are true

ATTLEBORO, Mass. — As the city continues to encourage residents to conserve water amid dry conditions, Attleboro mayor Cathleen DeSimone tells ABC6 News rumors of a human error leading to a water emergency are baseless.

Comments on Facebook have claimed city workers accidentally left a valve open for seven weeks, and that error cost the city 500 million gallons of water.

DeSimone said she was aware of that rumor last summer.

She said she met with the water superintendent at the time, and was assured that there was no such error.

When the rumor resurfaced recently, DeSimone said she met with staff at the water department to investigate the claim, and told staff members to contact her or the city’s human resources director if they had any information to report.

None of the employees came forward with any information suggesting the rumor was true, DeSimone said.

“I have no credible evidence or other reason to believe that there was a malfunction, error, or oversight concerning a valve left open by the Water Department that led to the loss of 500 million gallons of water,” Desimone said in an email to ABC6 News.

The water superintendent told DeSimone the confusion may stem from the city’s blending process.

After finding high levels of manganese in Orr’s Pond, one of the four reservoirs that feeds the West Street Water Treatment Plant, the water department started blending water from that pond with water from Manchester Reservoir, according to the information provided to the mayor.

That is typical during high manganese seasons, according to the water department. 

In fact, the water department said, extreme summer temperatures and lack of rainfall are to blame for the current water emergency.

“It is my sincere hope that we can move beyond social media rumors and stay focused on the drought, water conservation, and our water supply,” DeSimone said.

Residents will be asked to continue conserving water despite Thursday’s rain, DeSimone said.

“It is going to take a while for our water levels to get to where they need to be,” she said.