Spring water sourced from Haverhill’s Spring Hill Dairy is still stocked on shelves across New England despite a warning from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that the water may be harmful to pregnant woman, breastfeeding moms and infants if consumed.
Earlier this month, the state’s public health agency issued the warning after random testing showed the Ward Hill plant’s water had elevated levels of man-made elements called per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, or PFAS for short. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, PFAS date back to the 1940s and can be found in found in common household products like Teflon, in addition to drinking water.
The EPA reports those chemicals can contribute to low birth weights, compromise the immune system and impact one’s thyroid.
Department of Health spokeswoman Ann Scales told WHAV Tuesday Spring Hill installed a new system to filter water before bottling and have taken water samples to provide updated testing numbers to the DPH later this week.
Company spokeswoman Nancy Sterling told “The Boston Globe” $100,000 was spent on the filtration system, which aims to eliminate the chemicals.
Spring Hill water is shipped to a variety of stores across the region and labeled under a variety of names. According to the “Globe,” the water remains on shelves at Stop & Shop as Acadia and Whole Foods as 365.
Market Basket sells the water under “Market Basket Spring Water” and has removed it from shelves in favor of the brand’s newly filtered water. CVS has stopped receiving Spring Hill shipments, which it markets as “Ice Canyon.”