You may have seen recent media reports about perchlorate, a chemical that can be found in drinking water.

MWRA has never found perchlorate in its water supply.

Beginning this year, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection requires all water suppliers to monitor for perchlorate. MWRA will report results annually.

Before perchlorate was regulated by DEP, MWRA tested for perchlorate quarterly in 2001 and 2004 at three locations, with the last samples in November 2004. MWRA samples are tested with highly-sensitive equipment that can now detect levels of perchlorate to less than 1 part per billion. No perchlorate has ever been found.

MWRA tests the water supply each year for over 120 contaminants to ensure the water supplied is of the highest quality. For more information, please read MWRA's Water Quality Report <http://www.mwra.com/water/html/awqr.htm> .

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority provides water and sewer services to 2.5 million people in 61 metropolitan Boston communities.

Back to top

# # #

PDF files on this site require Adobe Acrobat Reader®. Free download.