Stoneham Community Letter 2021

The Stoneham Public Works Department is pleased to provide this annual newsletter to keep you informed about your water system.

Our Distribution System: The Town of Stoneham purchases all of its water directly from the MWRA. The Water Department maintains a network of nearly eighty miles of water mains. To maintain system integrity, Stoneham has an aggressive water main replacement program. During the past years, over 21,275 linear feet of water main pipe, was replaced. The majority of the pipe replaced was originally installed in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Much of the old piping had significant buildup of iron and mineral deposits. Replacing this piping will lessen water discoloration, decrease water main breaks, and improve fire protection. We also replaced water services, carried out a system wide meter replacement and testing program, and performed an annual flushing of all water mains. Our annual system wide leak detection survey was completed. This survey helps us identify and correct points of water loss in the system. A 20 inch water main on Main Street from South Street to Franklin Street was cleaned to remove pipe tuberculation and lined to prevent further pipe corrosion. This process will improve the water quality of the water coming into the community from the south end of town.

Lead and Copper Results: Our Water Department receives many questions about lead in tap water. There is no lead in the water supplied to your home. However, lead can enter tap water through contact with brass fixtures (which contain lead in the alloy), lead solder (formerly used in plumbing work), other lead fixtures in the house or possibly through the service lines - the pipe running from the house to the water main in the street. In accordance with federal standards, Stoneham tests for lead in tap water in fifteen local homes annually.

The 90th percentile level for Stoneham was 5.17 parts per billion (ppb), which is below the Action Level of 15 ppb. The 90th percentile for copper levels was 129 ppb, compared to the Action Level of 1300 ppb. If you would like to find out if you have a lead service line and how it can be replaced, please contact the phone number listed above. For more information about the potential presence of lead in tap water and steps that may be taken to reduce exposure, please see page 5, or contact the Stoneham Board of Health. Every school sink and fountain has been being tested for lead, and results are available for each school.

Total Coliform Tests: To ensure your water is safe, seven sites are sampled and tested for total coliform bacteria each week. Coliforms are bacteria that are naturally present in the environment and are used as an indicator that other, potentially harmful, waterborne pathogens may be present or that a potential pathway exists through which contamination may enter the drinking water distribution system. We found coliforms indicating the need to look for potential problems in water treatment or distribution. When this occurs, we are required to conduct assessment(s) to identify any problems that were found. In 2021 coliform bacteria was detected in 14 water samples. Based on the number of positive samples detected in 2021, MassDEP required us to carry out one Level 1 and one Level 2 assessment on our water system. Level 1 and Level 2 assessments are very detailed studies of the water system to identify potential problems and determine (if possible) why total coliform bacteria have been found in our water system on multiple occasions. Both were completed. The Level 1 and Level 2 corrective actions were completed and consisted of extensive flushing of the distribution system.

Different factors contributed to the presence of bacteria in our distribution system. High water turbidity (cloudiness or suspended particles in the water), a low chlorine residual in local pipes, and high water temperatures contributed to the occurrence of nitrification, which may have supported the growth of bacteria in our system. In response to the findings, we thoroughly flushed the water mains over a several week period until the water samples were non-detect for coliform bacteria. The Town will continue to monitor the routine water samples when temperatures increase and will work with the MWRA to minimize any further positive results.

Residents can visit the Town’s website at www.stoneham-ma.gov/261/Water-Sewer for more information on meetings and other water information, or visit the MWRA’s website at www.mwra.com.

Brett F. Gonsalves, Director of Public Works