Table of Contents

All The Way From Quabbin, To All of Us

Great Water From Forest To Faucet

What We All Need To Know About Lead

What We All Can Do To Reduce Lead

Information We All Need

Community Letter

All The Way From Quabbin, To All Of Us

Massachusetts experienced a significant drought during 2022, with about 30 percent less precipitation than normal. Thanks to our customer’s wise use of water during the drought and the long-term reduction in water use, MWRA’s reservoirs stayed well within normal operating range throughout the year, and no mandatory restrictions were needed. This annual water quality report illustrates MWRA’s ongoing efforts to provide you with safe water under all conditions.

MWRA works with your community, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), and state and federal regulators to provide and protect your drinking water. From the reservoirs surrounded by forests and wetlands, through treatment and miles of pipelines, to your drinking water faucet, MWRA’s laboratories conduct hundreds of thousands of tests on your water every year.

The water MWRA and your community provide to your home or business starts with our two pristine reservoirs in central Massachusetts — the Quabbin Reservoir, 65 miles from Boston, and the Wachusett Reservoir, 35 miles from Boston. Combined, these two reservoirs provide an average of 200 million gallons of pure, highly protected, high quality water each day to 53 communities. The Ware River provides additional water when needed.

The Quabbin and Wachusett watersheds—areas that drain water to the reservoirs—are naturally protected. More than 85% of the land is covered with forests and wetlands, which filter the rain and snow that enter the streams that flow to the reservoirs. This water comes in contact with soil, rock, plants, and other material as it follows its natural path to the reservoirs. This process helps to clean the water, but it also can dissolve and carry very small amounts of material into the reservoir. Minerals and rock do not typically cause problems in the water. Water can also transport contaminants, including bacteria, viruses or other potential pathogens, from human and animal activity that can cause illness. Testing results show that few contaminants are found in the reservoir water, and those few are in very small amounts well below EPA’s standards.

MWRA and DCR work together to implement our nationally recognized watershed protection program. The Department of Environmental Protection’s (MassDEP) Source Water Assessment report for the Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs commended DCR and MWRA for our source water protection plans. The report states that our “watershed protection programs are very successful and greatly reduce the actual risk of contamination.” MWRA and DCR follow the report recommendations to maintain the pristine watershed areas and high quality source water. For more information on our source water, go to: www.mwra.com/sourcewater.html.

Water: Tested From The Source…

MWRA analyzes, treats and protects the quality of your water, starting with the watershed streams, to the billions of gallons of water in the reservoirs, to hundreds of miles of MWRA pipes and thousands of miles of local pipes, all the way to your home.

A key, initial test for reservoir water quality is turbidity, or cloudiness. Turbidity refers to the amount of suspended particles in the water and can impair water disinfection. All water must be below 5 NTU (nephelometric turbidity units), and water can only be above 1 NTU if it does not interfere with effective disinfection. In 2022, typical levels in the Wachusett Reservoir were 0.30 NTU, and even at its highest level of 1.07 NTU for one hour during a December storm, disinfection met all requirements.

MWRA also tests water for potential disease-causing organisms, including fecal coliform bacteria, and parasites such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium, that can enter the water from animal or human waste. All test results for the reservoir water were well within state and federal testing and treatment standards. Learn more about MWRA test results for waterborne contaminants and their potential health impacts at: www.mwra.com.

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Great Water From Forest To Faucet

Treating Your Water

MWRA’s John J. Carroll Water Treatment Plant in Marlborough provides state-of-the-art treatment and monitoring of your water. Our well trained and licensed operators add measured doses of treatment chemicals.

• Ozone, made from pure oxygen, disinfects the water, killing bacteria, viruses and other organisms, and improves water clarity and taste.
• Ultraviolet light (UV), a more powerful form of natural disinfection than sunlight, renders pathogens non-infectious.
• Fluoride protects dental health.
• The water chemistry is adjusted to reduce corrosion of lead from home plumbing.
• Monochloramine (a compound of chlorine and ammonia), provides a mild and long-lasting disinfectant to protect the water as it travels through miles of pipelines to your home.
  
  
  

  

  Treatment Plant Namesake Passes On
  John J. Carroll served on the MWRA Board of Directors as its Vice Chair from the Authority’s inception in 1985 until his death in February 2023. In 2005, the MWRA Board honored his many contributions to the MWRA mission by naming the new water treatment plant after him.

Water Monitoring After Treatment

EPA and state regulations require regular monitoring of water quality tests to evaluate the water you drink. MWRA conducts hundreds of thousands of tests per year on over 120 contaminants. A complete list is available on www.mwra.com. The results of MWRA’s water quality tests in 2022 are shown in the table on page 2. They confirm the quality and safety of the water your community receives from MWRA.

Building Redundancy For Reliability

Planning and environmental review for two new tunnels north and south of Boston to provide reliable service to the entire region is underway. We also have major projects underway to rehabilitate the Weston Aqueduct Supply Main 3, a 60-inch pipe in Weston, Waltham, Belmont, Arlington and Medford, as well as a 48-inch pipe in Stoneham and Woburn. Maintaining the system and adding redundancy allows us to continue uninterrupted water delivery to your community, even if sections of our system need inspection, repair or rehabilitation. See www.mwra.com for more information.

Your community is investing in reliability as well. MWRA provides zero-interest loans to communities for pipeline rehabilitation and other water quality improvements. During 2022, we loaned $29 million to 15 communities for pipeline projects.

What We All Need To Know About Lead

While there is no lead in your source water, lead can be found in your home, including from your plumbing. Learn about the health impacts of lead, and how to reduce exposure to this toxic metal.

How Lead Affects Health and Development
Lead affects young children, and may cause damage to the brain, slow growth and development, and learning and behavior problems. Preventing lead exposure is particularly important if a pregnant woman or a child lives in your home or apartment. Lead can also impact the health of your entire family. While lead poisoning frequently comes from exposure to lead paint dust or chips, lead in drinking water can also contribute to total lead exposure.

Important Lead Information From the EPA
If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead in drinking water comes primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing. MWRA is responsible for providing high quality drinking water, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components. If your water has been sitting for several hours, you can minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. If you are concerned about lead in your water, you may wish to have your water tested. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 or www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.

How Lead Can Enter Your Water
Lead in your home plumbing or a lead service line can contribute to elevated lead levels in the water you drink. MWRA’s water is lead-free when it leaves our reservoirs. Water mains are mostly made of iron, steel or concrete, and do not add lead to the water. Lead can enter your tap water from your service line (the line that connects your home to the water main) if it is made of lead, lead solder used in plumbing, or from some older brass faucets.

Corrosion, or wearing away of lead based materials, can add lead to tap water, especially if water sits for a long time in the pipes before it is used. MWRA's water treatment helps limit the amount of lead in your water. In 1996, MWRA began adding sodium crbonate and carbon dioxide to adjust the water's pH and buffering capacity. This treatment makes the water less corrosive and reduces leaching of lead into drinking water. Lead levels found in tap water samples have dropped nearly 90% since this treatment change. Learn more about lead in drinking water at www.mwra.com.

MWRA Meets Lead Standard in 2022

Under EPA/DEP rules, MWRA and your local water department are required to test tap water each year. Because we collect samples from homes with lead service lines or lead solder, the results do not reflect lead levels in all homes. The EPA rule requires that 9 out of 10 homes tested must have lead levels below the Action Level of 15 parts per billion (ppb).

This testing process can provide information on whether lead is corroding and mixing with the drinking water. It also provides communities and you with information on how to reduce lead in your drinking water.

Nine out of 10 homes in the MWRA service area were below 7.3 ppb—well below the Action Level. All sampling rounds over the past 19 years have been below the EPA Action Level.

Only one community—Winthrop—was above the lead Action Level in September 2022. Your community letter on Page 7 will provide you with local results and more information.

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What We All Can Do To Reduce Lead

Lead Service Lines
A service line connects your home or building to the water main in the street. If yours is made of lead, it can be the main source of lead in your tap water. Older galvanized iron pipes with lead connectors (“goosenecks”) can also release lead. Lead service lines should be removed entirely to reduce lead in your drinking water.

Replacing Lead Service Lines
Your local water department can help find out if you have a lead service line, and provide help in replacing it. In some cases, an onsite check may be needed.

You can also check if your service line is made of lead by scratching the pipe near your water meter with a key or other metal object. Lead pipes will show a dull grey color, while copper pipes will not. For an online how-to guide, go to www.epa.gov/pyt.

MWRA Funding to Replace Lead Service Lines
MWRA and its Advisory Board offer zero-interest loans to customer communities for full lead service line replacement projects. Each MWRA community can develop its own local plan, and many communities have already taken steps to remove lead service lines. Since 2016, MWRA has provided $34 million to 14 communities to fully replace lead service lines. to find out more, contact your local water department.

Reduce Your Exposure to Lead

Remove Lead Piping

• Find out if you have a lead service line. Learn about replacement options from your local water department.

Other Measures for Lead Reduction

• Any time water has not been used for more than 6 hours, run the faucet used for drinking water or cooking until after the water becomes cold.
• Let water run before using it—fresh water is better than stale. To save water, fill a pitcher with fresh water and place it in the refrigerator for future use.
• Never use hot water from the faucet for drinking or cooking, especially when making baby formula or other food for infants or young children.
• Remove loose lead solder and debris. Every few months, remove the aerator from each faucet and flush the pipes for 3 to 5 minutes.
• Be careful of places where you may find lead in or near your home. Paint, soil, dust and pottery may contain lead. Call the Massachusetts Department of Public Health at 1-800-532-9571 or 1-800-424-LEAD for information on lead and health impacts.

How to Test Your Drinking Water

If you are concerned about lead piping in your home, contact your local water department about testing for lead in your drinking water. MWRA also maintains a list of certified laboratories and sampling instructions on our website at www.mwra.com. You may also call MWRA at 617-242-5323.

Lead Testing in Schools
Children can consume most of their drinking water at school or daycare. The plumbing inside some schools and childcare facilities can contain lead and contribute to lead exposure. MWRA, in coordination with DEP, provides no-cost lab analysis and technical assistance for schools and day care centers in MWRA communities. This service has been offered since 2016, and nearly all MWRA communities have participated. To date, more than 39,000 tests have been completed in more than 530 schools. Results are available on the MassDEP website at: www.mass.gov/dep (search for “lead in schools”). You may also contact your local school or water department for results.

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Information We All Need

Testing in Local Pipes

MWRA works with local water departments to sample and test 300-500 water samples each week for total coliform bacteria. Total coliform bacteria can come from the intestines of warm blooded animals, or can be found in soil, plants, or other places. Most of the time, they are not harmful. However, their presence could signal that harmful bacteria from fecal waste may be there as well. If any water sample does test positive, we run a more specific test for E. coli, which is a bacteria found in human and animal fecal waste and may cause illness. If total coliform is detected in more than 5% of samples in a month, the water system is required to investigate the possible source and fix any identified problems. If your community was required to do an investigation, or found E. coli, it will be in the letter from your community on page 7.

Important Research for New Regulations

MWRA works with EPA and health research organizations to help define new national drinking water standards by collecting data on water contaminants that are not yet regulated. Very few of these potential contaminants are found in MWRA water due to our source water protection efforts. Detailed information on testing for unregulated contaminants, as well as data on PFAS, disinfection by-products, Giardia and Cryptosporidium, and other contaminants can be found at www.mwra.com.

MWRA Monitoring for PFAS

PFAS compounds, used since the 1950s for many purposes from stain and water proofing to firefighting, continue to be a concern. In 2020, MassDEP published a drinking water standard for PFAS. MWRA water is now tested for 6 different PFAS compounds or “PFAS6.” Tests of MWRA water show only trace amounts of these compounds, well below the state standard of 20 parts per trillion. See www.mwra.com.

Important Health Information: Drinking Water and People with Weakened Immune Systems

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immuno-compromised persons such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly, and infants, can be particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).

EPA Information on Bottled Water and Tap Water

Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791) or MWRA. In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the Massachusetts DEP and the EPA prescribe regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health.

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Your Community Letter:

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Needham Water Division
 Department of Public Works 

Public Water Supply
# 3199000

Needham Water Supply: Needham draws its drinking water from two separate sources. The primary source of the Town’s drinking water comes from three gravel packed ground water wells located here in Town also known as the Charles River Water Treatment Facility. This well field has been the major source of water supply since the 1930’s. The Town’s secondary source is from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). The MWRA supply enters Needham’s distribution system through a 36” diameter pipe that runs from the MWRA’s Metro West Tunnel in Weston to the St. Mary’s booster pumping station. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) limits the amount of water the Town can take from the Charles River basin at an annual average of 2.63 MGD (million gallons a day). We use the MWRA when there’s a higher demand for water such as in the summer and for firefighting situations. Needham used an average of 3.6 million gallons of water per day in 2022. 68% was supplied by its primary source and the remaining 32% was from the MWRA secondary source.

Source Water Assessment: MassDEP approved the Town’s water source protection based on land use and operational restrictions in areas of influence to the Town’s drinking water wells. The assessment helps focus protection efforts on appropriate best management practices and drinking water source protection measures. The complete assessment report is available on line: www.mass.gov/lists/source-water-assessment-and-protection-swap-program-documents.

Water Department Operations: The Needham Department of Public Works water division maintains and operates the Charles River Water Treatment Facility and its water distribution system to deliver water to its customers. The system consists of 146 miles of water mains, 3,400 gate valves and 10,283 service connections. 1,245 fire hydrants and two water storage tanks provide a combined 4 million gallons of storage. We conducted sanitary and security inspections on both Dunster Road & Birds Hill water tanks. Needham also performs regular preventative maintenance by replacing older water meters and upgrading older water mains. The Town hired a contractor to replace a main transmission line from Marked Tree Rd @ High Rock St to Central Ave @ Pine St. 5358 feet of 16” water main plus an additional 120 feet of various main sizes off the transmission line. Needham also replaced 8 older fire hydrants, conducted a system wide leak detection survey. Wells 1A and 3A at the Charles River Water Treatment Facility were re-developed (cleaned) to bring back their original yields (specific capacity). The DPW continues to undertake construction and maintenance projects designed to provide our customers with the safest and most reliable supply of drinking water. You will also receive a separate report outlining these projects and water quality results from our local supplies at: www.needhamma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/23971/2022-Water-Quality-final-report.

Water Treatment: To maintain compliance with Federal and State drinking water regulations Needham conducts a DEP water quality sampling program. Needham well water must be treated before it reaches consumer’s taps. This includes oxidation and removal of iron and manganese with sodium hypochlorite via filtration, pH is adjusted by adding sodium hydroxide to raise the natural pH and alkalinity, thereby reducing the water’s corrosiveness to household plumbing. Water is disinfected by adding chlorine to inactivate any pathogens in the water, and to maintain a chlorine residual in the distribution system. Fluoride is added to prevent tooth decay and cavities, and polyphosphate is added minimize calcium from precipitating in homes.

Monitoring Water For PFAS: PFAS compounds continue to be an environmental concern. In 2020 the Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) published a drinking standard for the sum of PFAS6. Needham’s water showed detected levels of PFAS but was below the regulated level of 20 parts per trillion (ppt) that MassDEP set.

	Average (monthly)	Range	MCL	MCLG	Violation
PFAS 6 (ppt)	8.98	7.3-12.4	20	20	No

Water Analysis: Needham’s Water Division along with the MWRA analyze water samples regularly to ensure the Town’s drinking water meets or exceeds MassDEP drinking water quality standards. In 2022, Needham collected over 500 water samples analyzing over 100 potential contaminants and found these to be well below all State and Federal regulations established by MassDEP. The Town has successfully maintained lead and copper levels well below the EPA requirements of 15 ppb (parts per billion) for lead and 1.3 (parts per million) for copper. Thirty samples were tested during July to September 2020. Contact the Needham Water Department to find out if you have a lead service line coming into your home. Lead services should be removed entirely to prevent lead in your drinking water.

	Range	90% Value	Action Level	MCLG	Samples Over Action Level
Lead (ppb)	0.10-12.10 ppb	3.7 ppb	15 ppb	0 ppb	0
Copper (ppb)	4.0-116 ppb	63.2 ppb	1300 ppb	1300 ppb	0

The next round of Lead & Copper sampling will be in the summer of 2023. If you have any questions or concerns about any aspect of the drinking water quality, or to find out about public meetings, please contact: Stephen Cusick, Water Treatment Plant Manager 781-416-4071 or Michael Retzky, Water & Sewer Superintendent 781-455-7550.

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Updated June 8, 2023