WILLIAMSTOWN – Don’t drink the water at Mount Greylock Regional High School, where drinking fountains were closed Friday after tests showed the presence of a potentially harmful chemical, perchlorate, in the school’s wells.
The chemical is widely used as a propellant in, among other things, fireworks, which have been set off on the school grounds at graduations and Fourth of July celebrations.
The administration has halted the use of any school water for drinking and has shut down the south well completely, according a news release. The south well showed a level of 5.05 parts of perchlorate per billion parts of water — five times the maximum allowed under state standards. The north well showed 1.03 parts per billion but is now used only for washing and flushing toilets.
Further tests showed even higher levels, a state Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman said yesterday — 9.6 parts per billion in the south well and 2.4 parts per billion in the north. The south well remains offline, and the school is providing bottled water.
The school took samples for the first time this April in accordance with new DEP regulations; no sampling for perchlorate had been previously required.
DEP guidlines note that sensitive populations – pregnant women, infants, children up to age 12, and people with hypothyroidism – should not drink water exceeding 1 part per billion, but that higher levels are safe for others.
Bottled water is available for drinking at the school, At this point, the investigation has focused on confirming the safety of the school’s water quality. Later, the source of contamination will be investigated. Perchlorate has been linked to rocket fuel, munitions and fireworks.
Eva Tor of the DEP said, “Just now we’re getting many of the results, but no other schools in Berkshire County show high levels of perchlorate. If the results are confirmed, we’ll try to find out where this might have come from. The first step is to make sure the numbers are real.â€
Ammonium perchlorate is highly mobile in water and can persist for many decades, according to the DEP. Perchlorate disrupts normal functioning of the thyroid gland, and, as in iodine deficiency, can stunt growth and affect behavior, movement, speech, hearing, vision and intelligence, the department said.
Impaired brain development and lower IQ were observed in children born to even mildly or moderately iodine-deficient mothers.
In the absence of a federal drinking water standard, the DEP has developed a draft toxicity value and is working toward the development of standards.
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Pittsfield Council Takes Up $243M Fiscal 2027 Budget
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Mayor Peter Marchetti detailed the city's $243 million spending plan during the first budget hearing of the season on Tuesday.
The proposed operating budget for Pittsfield in fiscal year 2027 is $232,782,090, a 2.9 percent increase from this year. Marchetti compared that to hikes in fixed costs: a 9 percent increase in health insurance, a 7 percent increase in debt service, and more than a 5 percent increase in retirement contributions.
"We needed to make reductions in other places," he explained.
The total proposed budget is $243,234,868. It breaks down into $145,927,029 for the municipal operating budget, $86,855,061 for the schools, and $10,452,778 for proposed state assessments and overlay.
To balance the budget, the administration will not fill several vacant positions, is funding police social workers and co-responders through opioid settlement funds, and reduces the library's Thursday hours.
"Probably one of our most painful cuts that we have produced: The overall [Department of Public Services] budget has been reduced by $738,000 from fiscal year 26 to 27, with a reduction of five positions that are currently vacant, have been vacant for some time, and we believe the reason that those positions are vacant is based on our salaries," Marchetti explained.
"So once we are able to successfully negotiate a contract with the teamsters, we will be back looking to be able to fund these positions from a later appropriation. It is not our intent to let them go vacant all year, but it's impossible to budget when we know we can't fill them, and we don't know what salary at this current stage to use."
The budget includes $2 million in free cash to offset the tax rate, $19,791,219 from water & sewer enterprise funds, $81,959,322 from state aid ($68,855,061 in Chapter 70 School Aid), and $15,388,750 in local receipts.
Jason Codey struck out 13, walked two and allowed just an infield single as the Generals earned a 7-1 win over Wahconah to claim their third straight regional title. click for more
Gracelyn Wright struck out eight, and Genevieve Lagess went 3-for-5 with four runs batted in as the Hurricanes beat Monson, 17-3, to claim their first Western Mass title in four years. click for more
For the boys, Ward Bianchi helped lead the way with a win in the shot put and a second place in the javelin as the Mounties finished 16 points ahead of runner-up Pittsfield (pending the results of the pole vault, which were unavailable at 11 p.m. Friday night). click for more
Brady Auger Friday scored five goals to lead the Mount Greylock boys Lacrosse team to a 16-14 win over Hoosac Valley in the title game of the Western Massachusetts Class C Tournament. click for more
Brooke Harrington scored four goals, and Abigail Rodhouse had a hat trick as Wahconah won its second straight Western Mass title and the rubber match against the Mounties in the third one-goal game between the teams this spring. click for more
