Swampscott veteran provides relief for residents affected by foul water

SWAMPSCOTT – Roger Carroll was sitting in the audience at the selectmen?s meeting as Ruel Longfellow offered board members a glass of brown tap water from his home to drink. The Swampscott Disabled American Veterans member heard the plight of Longfellow and residents from 14 other homes on Muriel Road and Lodge Road who had been dealing with rust-laden water for more than a year and wondered what he could do.A couple of weeks later, Carroll let Selectman Glenn Kessler know of 50 cases of water bottles the Swampscott Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1240 had left over from the Veterans Appreciation Day Parade last month in Lynn.?The rest is history,” said Longfellow as he described Carroll?s generosity. The 50 cases of Poland Spring water bottles were divided among the residents so each home received three cases of water.But as grateful as the neighbors were to receive the bottled water, Longfellow said now that it?s gone, the Muriel and Lodge residents must still deal with murky tap water for the time being.Longfellow said he sent a follow-up email two weeks ago to Town Administrator Thomas Younger with names and addresses of all those affected by brown water. He has yet to hear back, but said he?d call Younger on Monday.Longfellow said that after 14 months of discoloration in their taps, toilets and showers, the neighbors are just happy to see action.?We?re hoping,” said Longfellow. “We believe what they tell us.”He said the town will most likely provide the families with five-gallon jugs of drinking water and praised Department of Public Works Director Gino Cresta for flushing the pipes every Friday to clear the water until the pipes are permanently relined in the spring.