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Scituate officials are warning residents of the Massachusetts town about manganese levels in the drinking water.

A notice from the Scituate Water Division states that water sample results received on July 26 confirmed manganese levels of 0.330 milligrams per liter (mg/L), which is in excess of the level advised by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).

While drinking water may naturally have manganese, which is necessary for proper nutrition, an excess of the mineral could adversely affect neurological health.

The MassDEP advises that people drink water with manganese levels of less than 0.3 mg/L over a lifetime and that they limit their consumption of water with manganese levels over 1 mg/L.

Town officials in Scituate said infants less than 1 year old should be given bottled water or water from a source with a manganese level below 0.3 mg/L. In addition, infant formula should also be prepared with bottled water or made with water from an alternate source that has manganese levels below 0.3 mg/L.

According to town officials, the general population may continue to use the water in Scituate since they anticipate that the manganese issue will be resolved before long-term exposures occur.

The Scituate Water Department said it will continue to monitor the town's water supply for manganese, work to lower manganese concentrations and work with the MassDEP to keep residents informed about the situation.

Free bottled water is being distributed to Scituate residents at the Surface Water Treatment Plant.

Late last month, Scituate Town Administrator James Boudreau said that the town's reservoir was "down significantly" from recent weeks and that the demand for water had increased.

"As the drought worsens, the water table that supplies our wells also drops, lowering the output from our wells, making us more dependent on our water treatment plant for our water supply," Boudreau said in a video message released July 25.

Boudreau explained that using more water from the pond brings more manganese into the town's water system. The mineral causes discolored water.

On July 28, Scituate resident Andrea Hunt told NewsCenter 5 said the water that was filling one of her bathtubs was tinted green.

"When it's not this green tone, it's brown," Hunt said. "When it's brown, it's either tea-colored or it is mud-colored."

The Scituate Water Division said that it brought a well online in April that brings more than 300,000 additional gallons of clean well water into the town's water system every day. The new well has helped reduce the burden on the town's aging Surface Water Treatment Plant, which is the cause of the high manganese level.

Officials also said that raw water manganese concentrations had "increased significantly" this summer in Old Oaken Bucket Pond, which is fed into the Surface Water Treatment Plant — which was never designed to remove manganese.

According to officials, the town is in the design phase of a new water treatment plant that will greatly improve the overall water quality in Scituate, including manganese removal.

The next step in the process of constructing a new treatment plant is approval of the location at a town meeting scheduled for Sept. 19, officials said.

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