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Westbrook Samples Water in Response to Sewage Leak; Beaches OK

After more than two million gallons of raw sewage leaked into the Mill River in Hamden on July 7 and drifted into Long Island Sound, towns along the shoreline from East Haven to Madison temporarily closed their beaches.

Westbrook Public Health Director Zachary Faiella did not believe the water at West Beach would likely be affected, but had it tested nonetheless, he said.

“Westbrook Town Beach is sampled and tested every Monday from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but yesterday’s 2.1 million gallon raw sewage release...warrants an additional sampling and testing,” he said.

The water was tested on July 9 and satisfactory results were returned the following day, well below the bacteria limits set by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH), according to Faiella.

“To put things in perspective, Long Island Sound has 18 trillion gallons of water,” he said. “Two million gallons is minimal, in perspective.”

Had the results exceeded the DPH threshold of 104 enterococci per 100 ml of water, Westbrook’s health department would have notified the community, closed the beach, and resampled until the results were satisfactory, Faiella explained.

“The weekly, routine sampling and testing of the Westbrook Town Beach bathing water will continue on Monday, July 13,” he added.