MWRA - Drinking Water Test Results 2021

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

Your Community Letter:

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Town of Bedford
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
314 Great Road - Bedford, MA 01730
Tel. (781) 275-7605 - Fax. (781) 275-9010 - www.bedfordma.gov

Public Water Supply
# 3023000

BEDFORD’S WATER SYSTEM

In 2022, Bedford supplied 607 million gallons of water to our residential, retail and industrial customers; this usage was above the supplied amount in 2021 (550 MG), resulting in an average daily usage of 1.6 million gallons. Our average residential use is 64 gallons per person per day. Bedford’s peak day demand was 3.0 million gallons on August 4th. In 2022, Bedford was 100% supplied by the MWRA (i.e. Quabbin Reservoir) via Lexington from 3 meter vaults. The three Shawsheen Wells remain off-line while we continue to work with MassDEP to determine safe and cost-effective measures related to PFAS. Bedford’s water system includes approximately 84 miles of water mains, 800 fire hydrants, 760 backflow prevention devices, 5,000 service connections and three storage tanks.

WATER OPERATIONS

This year the Water Division completed its retrofit upgrade at the Pine Hill storage tank to enhance the disinfection process and began similar work at the Crosby Drive storage tank. Also in 2022, approximately 4,800 linear feet of water mains were replaced in sections of South Road and Page Road. Additionally, 5,000 linear feet of water main were cleaned and cement lined along Hillside Avenue, Anthony Road and sections of Springs Road and Pine Hill Road.

To maintain water quality, over 200 hydrants were flushed to remove sediments in dead-end water mains, and another 100 hydrants were cleaned, flagged and painted during the summer. Older/leaking hydrants are replaced as needed. In 2022, a comprehensive leak detection survey was completed, covering 39 miles of water mains and resulted in the location of two leaks. Total water loss through leaks in the survey was estimated at 6 gallons per minute. Both leaks were promptly repaired by Bedford Water Division staff.

WATER QUALITY TESTING

The Water Division regularly tests for various parameters to monitor water quality. MWRA’s results for various parameters are listed in the beginning of this report. In addition to the regulated testing noted below, the calcium concentration was 5.2 ppm, and hardness was 17 ppm.

Compound	MCL (Highest Level Allowed)	MCLG (Highest Level Allowed)	Detected Level	Range of Detection	Violation	How it gets in the water
Total Trihalomethanes (ppb)	80	NS	25	7.5-21	No	Byproducts of drinking water disinfection.
Haloacetic Acids - 5	60	NS	16	ND-21	No	Byproducts of drinking water disinfection.

In August, Total Coliform was detected above the 1 positive/per month limit, which required us to conduct a Level 2 Assessment to identify potential problems in our distribution system and to correct any problems that were found. A Level 2 assessment is a very detailed study of the water system to identify problems and to determine (if possible) why total coliform bacteria have been found in our water system. Coliforms are bacteria that are naturally present in the environment and are used as indicators that other potentially harmful, waterborne pathogens, may be present or that a potential pathway exists through which contamination may enter the water distribution system. When this occurs, we are required to conduct assessments to identify any problems that were found during these assessments. As a result of the Level 2 Assessment, the two corrective actions noted below were performed and completed.

Level 2 Corrective Actions Performed:	Completed:
Design and installation of monochloramine booster station at the Pine Hill Water Storage Tank	August 2022
Semiannual hydrant flushing program	April & October 2022

LEAD & COPPER IN BEDFORD

The MWRA adjusts the pH of drinking water, making it less corrosive in order to prevent the leaching out of lead and copper from household plumbing. As part of MassDEP revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule, the Bedford Water Division is updating its water service line material inventory to submit to MassDEP by October 2024. In compliance with the Lead and Copper Rule, the Town performed lead and copper sampling in 30 homes, the 4 public schools and 2 daycare facilities, with results below EPA Action Levels (see below). Our next sampling for lead and copper is scheduled for 2023.

	Range	90% Value	Action Level	MCLG	Samples Over Action Level
Lead (ppb)	ND - 15 ppb	5	15 ppb	0 ppb	0
Copper (ppb)	38 - 900 ppb	120	1300 ppb	1300 ppb	0

If you would like more information about Bedford’s water system or public meetings, please call, or visit our website at the contacts below.

Jason Raposa, Water & Sewer Operations Manager
(781) 918-4255, www.bedfordma.gov