MERIDEN — People in Meriden are fired up over a notice they got in the mail on Tuesday.
It notified them saying their water that was once contaminated has now been resolved. However, the issue is that they were never notified the water was not safe to begin with.
“Why weren’t we told about it sooner?” said Meriden resident Nicole Caponera.
That is the question that is being asked all over Meriden after the water department sent out the notice. On the top, it lists April 24th as the date the notice was written. On the bottom, it said the issue is expected to be resolved by March 12th which was over a month ago.
On the back of the notice, it said the water was contaminated from January to March.
“We need to be notified of something that’s happening so that we can protect ourselves and our family from it,” added Caponera.
“I saw the word cancer and immediately thought of my children, thought about my future, thought about everything in general,” said Meriden Resident Sean McDonald.
The notice went on to explain the level of haloacetic acids exceeded the city’s water standards. It then said the exposure to these acids long-term can lead to cancer.
McDonald has been living on Bradley Avenue for 15 years and he said recently, his water has not looked normal.
“I wake up in the morning sometimes, my water smells like bleach, I wake up in the morning sometimes, my water’s pure white and I let it sit,” added McDonald.
FOX61 reached out to the Meriden Water Department and in an email, they said they used liquid chlorine to treat the issue. When we asked why residents did not find out about the contamination until Tuesday, a response was not returned.
“I’m not taking that chance anymore, so now I’ll be paying for Poland Springs to come to my home and now I’m going to look to see if the City of Meriden wants to pay for the filtration in my home,” added McDonald.
McDonald said he and others should not have had to pay their last water bill.
“As a taxpayer in this town, I’m very offended and upset,” added McDonald.
There will be a town council meeting on Monday, when residents plan to voice their concerns.
