LIVERMORE — Water tests from a well at the highway garage came back clear, town administrative assistant Kurt Schaub said Wednesday.

After an odor was detected from the water, samples of it were sent in December to Health and the Environmental Testing Laboratory in Augusta to be analyzed.

All the tests were rated satisfactory, Schaub said.

“In other words, the water is safe,” he said.

Schaub and highway foreman Roger Ferland were concerned about the odor because there had been an underground fuel tank at the garage that had leaked. It was cleaned up under the guidance of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

To play it safe, water samples were sent to the laboratory for testing.

The well was drilled in the 1990s.

One test done at the lab was to determine if there was any fuel remnants.

“Like the other tests, it also showed no sign of contamination,” Schaub said.

The focus is now on the hot water heater tank.

“Our suspicion is that the odor originated with an anode rod in the hot water heater which is designed to attract minerals that might contribute to early deterioration of the tank,” Schaub said. “After a period of time, the rod itself can become so coated that it actually causes an odor.”

The rod was removed about a month ago but the odor persists, he said.

The next step is to have local plumber Rocky Lake look at the tank and possibly replace it, he said.

dperry@sunjournal.com