Weatherly Borough Council on Monday addressed residents’ concerns following last week’s water boil advisory.

Mayor/Council President Michael Bellizia explained that they found no clear cause for the positive coliform and E.coli test result Oct. 19, a week earlier that forced the boil advisory that lasted through Friday afternoon.

“We thoroughly reviewed our equipment and did not identify anything that would have led to the positive samples,” he explained.

Bellizia explained that the borough consulted with the state Department of Environmental Protection and took several preventative measures, changed a drop tube, pumps, and cleaned and sanitized tanks.

Crews also reviewed sample handling procedures to ensure future sampling doesn’t provide positive results, as the testing is very sensitive to potential background conditions and sampling procedures.

“The cause of the recent findings are unclear,” Bellizia said. “Currently, there is no risk to our water supplies, and we will continue to diligently monitor the systems per state requirements.”

He then opened the floor for residents to speak, asking them to maintain their composure if they are upset.

“We’re very unhappy that this has happened and we reacted as fast as we humanly could to that. Period,” Bellizia said. “We responded faster than DEP requires us to. We got the information out as quickly as we could.”

Spring Street resident Virginia Houser explained that water filters on her house and refrigerator had to be changed, and that it’s not an easy task for she and her husband. She also had issues regarding parking and snow removal and Bellizia asked her to fill out a form, and he would address those concerns with her.

Abrie VanBritsom of East Main Street believed there was a lack of transparency and clear communication with residents about the water situation.

“Residents should not have to monitor social media or dig for answers to understand what is happening with their drinking water,” she told council.

While the borough said the results were inconclusive, DEP pointed to an ineffective chlorine pump and questioned why residents weren’t told about rechecks and confusion among borough employees.

“The borough should be proactively communicating what happened, what is known about the cause, and what corrective actions have been taken,” VanBritsom said.

She asked them to be more transparent, communicate directly with residents, and acknowledge when answers aren’t available, as the borough is losing its residents’ trust.

Bellizia explained that council members listen to their employees but also seek answers on their own. He said that he spoke to DEP himself, and there was never a question regarding chlorine.

“It was just never the case,” he explained. “We have 24 hours to respond once we get a DEP notification. The first wave of information went out in three hours.”

Bellizia explained that there was confusing data with the testing, prompting them to look at different potential sources and take preventative measures.

“I wish they would have found a smoking gun so that we at least know what happened or what took place,” he said.

Bellizia explained that he has been working on improving communication with residents, as that was one of the biggest complaints that he heard.

“We are trying to communicate as fast as we can, but as you can see by looking on What’s Happening in Weatherly, the tiniest bit of information gets blown to nuclear levels instantly,” he said.

“So, we don’t want the people to panic either, and we don’t want people to be upset unnecessarily. We appreciate your concerns. We truly do. We really did make an effort and I’m sorry that it didn’t meet your expectations.”

Borough Manager Tracy Grover added that when they get these results, they don’t get a road map to where the problem is.

“It’s really trying to pinpoint a needle in a haystack. You just don’t know. You can take a look at equipment. If there’s something in question, you change it out,” she said. “Our team was on it.”

Grover pointed out that when she reached out to DEP, she was told that their water supervisor had already reached out and was working on it.

Tom Connors Jr. of West Main Street asked if the borough shut off people’s electricity for past due accounts during the water boil advisory.

Grover said that they did have shut offs according to normal procedures, and Connors asked if that was inhumane to do during a boil advisory.

“During a boil advisory, the only water that’s good in the house is if you boil it,’ he said.

Grover pointed out that the borough did supply a water buffalo for residents to get fresh water, and business still goes on.

“We don’t have vendors contacting us and saying, ‘We understand you have an issue there. Don’t worry about paying your bill,’ ” Grover said. “If we don’t pay the bills, we get assessed late charges.”