Peabody Community Letter 2023

City of Peabody
Department of Public Services

Public Water Supply
# 3229000

Dear Customer,

Peabody’s drinking water is mainly supplied by the Walsh and Winona Water Treatment Plants. MWRA provided 22% of supplemental drinking water during high water demand months. There are four water storage tanks in the distribution system that provide storage, pressure, and fire protection. A voluntary water restriction continues to be in effect, and we ask our customers to practice conservation measures. For further information on Peabody’s water quality, or to learn about public meetings, contact the Peabody Public Services Department at (978) 536-0060 or go to: www.peabody-ma.gov/public%20services.html.

Water Treatment: Walsh and Winona WTPs implement the following treatment steps: 1) Coagulation and sedimentation, which removes particles from the water through flocculation, then settling and filtration, which removes the remaining particles out of the water; 2) Primary disinfection, which uses free chlorine to kill the harmful microbes, and secondary disinfection, which uses monochloramine to control biological activity in the distribution system, and; 3) Fluoride is added for dental health. Additionally, beginning this year the Walsh WTP pretreats iron and manganese in source water using oxidation by potassium permanganate. The plant was cited by MassDEP for implementing the treatment without final approval, which it has since been granted. The Winona WTP project is completed, and aeration, DAF, GAC filtration, and sodium permanganate pretreatment have been added.

Source of Water: Winona water (32% of local supply) is pumped from Winona Pond. Walsh water is pumped from Suntaug Lake (39% of local) and Spring Pond (29% of local). The source for Suntaug Lake and Winona Pond is the Ipswich River. Under MassDEP’s Water Management Act Regulations, withdrawing water from the Ipswich River is only allowed during winter and spring months. MassDEP has characterized our surface water source susceptibility as moderate to high. For more information, please visit: www.mass.gov/service-details/the-source-water-assessment-protection-swa…. Peabody has initiated a Clean and Sustainable Water Future Use Plan. We continue to use Solitude Lake Management for the prevention of seasonal algal growth that can cause taste and odor issues.

Lead and Copper: Peabody’s water was tested for lead and copper in February and August 2023 at 30 homes and 2 schools. The 90th percentiles for all lead samples results were 1.73 and 2.14 parts per billion (ppb), below the lead Action Level of 15 ppb. The 90th for copper levels were 79.6 and 111 ppb, below the copper action level of 1300 ppb. The City has also removed 38 lead goosenecks as part of our Lead Service Line Replacement Program.

Results from sampling at our two treatment plants and distribution system are below.

1 - For more information: www.mass.gov/info-details/per--and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas
2 - Highest level reported as required