Residents concerned over high level of manganese in Shrewsbury water

SHREWSBURY, Mass. — Residents in Shrewsbury said that the town isn’t doing enough to ensure the safety of their water.

Several residents recently noticed discoloration and sediment coming out of the faucet. When some of them started calling the town about their concerns, they learned about a bigger issue involving higher than average amounts of manganese in the water.

The chemical element can cause health complications, especially for infants.

Town leaders say concerns about the manganese were published in the 2015 water quality report, and residents were notified about where they could review that report.

Still, residents told FOX25 that not enough was done because those concerns were on the eight page of the report.

"The best thing to do is if you have a problem you should communicate it and let your people know and your people can make a decision of saying ‘I'm going to buy bottled water, install a filter in my house and do whatever needs to be done,’ but you need to know,” Shrewsbury resident Ivana Gurrieri said.

Water and Sewer Superintendent Bob Tozeski said the amount of manganese did not reach dangerous levels, but he will make changes moving forward.

“I think we could have done a better job and that really lies on me and nobody else,” Tozeski said, "I can understand people's frustration and I certainly apologize for any inconvenience and we are going to do our best to try to get the problem resolved.”

Cox Media Group