The last Mayor's Desk column I wrote for the Gloucester Daily Times was on Saturday, Aug. 15.

That was the day that the Babson Water Treatment Plant failed, too. I can't tell you how frustrating it was to not have a direct line of communication with the community during the prolonged water crisis.

There are no easy answers to solve the water problem, and no simple explanations for what occurred. This column presents a great opportunity to get into the complexities of the situation. For example, residents will receive a letter over the next few days, which the city is required to send, notifying the public about two violations of drinking water standards.

The first violation relates to the excessive levels of bacteria in the water this past summer. The "fix" for that problem was to inject more and more chlorine into the water to keep bacteria levels down. This fix created its own problem which is the subject of the second violation, and that is that chlorine produces disinfection byproducts which need to be held to certain levels.

The standard for disinfection byproducts is 80 micrograms per liter. Measured as a quarterly running average, Gloucester's most recent level reached 84 micrograms per liter, triggering the need to send out a notice to the public. Not so many years ago, the allowable maximum was 100 micrograms per liter.

The water crisis serves as a demand for a complete re-ordering of priorities for the city and my administration. It ultimately took $600,000 and 55 people, including many experts from outside the city, in an Incident Command structure to gain control of the situation. There is a long road ahead to address the city's drinking water infrastructure.

Two years ago, when I first took office, the No. 1 priority facing the city was getting the city's fiscal house in order. We've restored credibility with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. The bond rating has held firm. Multi-million dollar deficits have been resolved. It took cooperation with the City Council. It took focus, and it took the discipline of saying no to spending money we don't have. It also took tremendous teamwork among city staff.

Today, the No. 1 priority facing the city is addressing infrastructure needs. The most urgent need is the drinking water infrastructure. It will take cooperation with the City Council. It will take focus, and the discipline of saying no to other more glamorous capital projects that might present themselves. It will also take strong teamwork among city staff.

My office will be working directly with the staff to monitor compliance with consent orders, comb through the estimated expenses, work on the financing plan, prepare contingencies, and generally manage the activities with a deep understanding of the impact of not getting it right.

The switch in priorities is significant. It is not that we are taking our eye off of the fiscal priority. In fact, Gloucester is in a better position now to make the investments that are necessary.

Over the past year, I have written extensively about fiscal realities. Going forward, you can be certain that I will be writing about infrastructure. Glad to be back.

Carolyn Kirk is mayor of the city of Gloucester.