On December 15, 2005, the MWRA Board of Directors voted unanimously to admit the Dedham-Westwood Water District to the regional water system.  Reading joins the other 48 MWRA communities who receive water from the massive Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs in central Massachusetts.

The District will use MWRA water to supplement its own wells in the Neponset and Charles River basins.  During low flow periods, the use of the Foul Meadow Well is restricted.  The Town will is expected to use an average of .1 million gallons per day from MWRA and up to 2 million gallons on a maximum day basis. 

Since 1987, water use in the MWRA service area has been reduced dramatically - from an average of 340 million gallons per day in the mid-1980s to 220 million gallons per day in 2004.

This reduction is a result of aggressive leak detection, public education, voluntary conservation programs and new plumbing codes.

With the MWRA system 25% below its “safe yield” of 300 million gallons per day, there is ample water available for new communities to join the system.

The Town of Reading joined the water system in November.

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