Winthrop Community Letter 2022

The Winthrop Department of Public Works is pleased to provide this annual water quality report to keep you informed about our water distribution system.

Our Distribution System: 

Winthrop purchases all of its water directly from the MWRA. We are happy to have a partnership with the MWRA in our mission to supply some of the best quality water in the country. This water is delivered through a master meter and the town’s pressure reducing station before being conveyed through the network of buried water mains to your home or business. The DPW Water Division is responsible for operating and maintaining the Pressure Reducing Station, 46 miles of water mains, a 1 Million Gallon capacity standpipe, 500 fire hydrants and 4,500 service connections. The division replaced 4 fire hydrants, repaired 2 more, and repaired two water main breaks. We also completed the Bartlett Road water main project that replaced over 3000 feet of water mains, valves, and services. To improve productivity and customer service Winthrop converted to a radio read system and continues to work on a town-wide meter replacement project, now 90% complete.

Leak Detection and Backflow Protection: 

Winthrop undergoes an annual leak detection survey to help locate leaks and to reduce unaccounted for water. This past year, the survey was completed in September and identified 1 valve leak, which was promptly repaired. Winthrop continues to enforce the DEP mandated cross connection control and prevention program to prevent contamination from entering our distribution system. In 2022, the department conducted 100 backflow prevention device tests town-wide.

Hydrant Flushing Program: 

We completed two phases of our on-going 15-phase unidirectional flushing program, which helps maintain water quality by removing naturally occurring sediments in the water mains that can cause taste, odor, and turbidity problems, and also serves the community by exercising gate valves and inspecting and testing hydrants to assure adequate fire protection.

Lead in your water: 

The Department of Public Works is committed to reducing lead in water. During the September 2022 sampling round, Winthrop exceeded the lead Action Level with a 90th percentile of 16.8 ppb, which is above the Action Level of 15 ppb. Infants and children who drink water containing lead in excess of the action level could experience delays in their physical or mental development. Children could show slight deficits in attention span and learning abilities. Adults who drink this water over many years could develop kidney problems or high blood pressure. Results are shown below.

Winthrop was required to sample twice in calendar year 2023 as a result of the exceedance in 2022. The range of results for lead testing in the spring of 2023 was 0.09 to 13.5 ppb, and the 90th percentile for all results was 6.6 ppb, well below the Action Level for lead of 15 ppb. The DPW took the following steps to address lead levels in your drinking water. We identified remaining lead services and updated the database. We continued to remove annually at least 7% of the Town-owned portion of remaining lead services coupled with a program that offers homeowners an opportunity to replace the private portion of the service. In 2022, 114 full or partial lead services were replaced with copper, 14 by in-house staff and 100 as part of an MWRA funded lead service replacement project. We are committed to making lead line replacement a priority in our MWRA funded water main replacement projects. Property owners who wish to participate in the lead removal program, or want further details, are encouraged to call the DPW at 617-846-1341 or email scalla@town.winthrop.ma.us. See pages 4 and 5 for more information about lead..

Total Coliform Tests in Community Pipes: 

The Winthrop Water Department tests 12 samples twice per month for total coliform bacteria to monitor our distribution system. No more than 1 sample per month may be total coliform positive. In 2022, Winthrop exceeded this requirement at multiple sample sites in the months of August and September, which resulted in Level 2 Assessments. A Level 2 Assessment is a very detailed study of the water system to identify potential problems and 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 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 assessments to identify any problems and to correct any problems that were found. The cause of the exceedances was suspected to be temperature related in conjunction with aged water in certain areas of the system. These factors resulted in poor chlorine residuals, which triggered the total coliform hits. The Town performed system wide hydrant flushing to eliminate the aged water concerns and to replenish adequate chlorine residuals. All assessments were completed and submitted to DEP for review and no additional actions were required. We truly hope you find this report useful and informative. If you have further questions or want information about meetings, feel free to contact the Winthrop DPW, the MWRA, or other contacts such as the DEP or EPA.

Sincerely, Steven R. Calla

Public Works Director / Water Superintendent