Misplaced Pages

#969030

84-598: The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority ( MWRA ) is a public authority in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that provides wholesale drinking water and sewage services to 3.1 million people in sixty-one municipalities and more than 5,500 large industrial users in the eastern and central parts of the state, primarily in the Boston area. The authority receives water from the Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs and

168-609: A boil-water order or cause a complete water outage in any given area. This includes making a new connection for the Commonwealth Avenue Pumping Station in Newtown to low service lines, to allow the city to continue to receive water in case the City Tunnel goes out of service. MWRA also has a program to finance replacement or lining of local water mains, to maintain quality for consumers. In 1884,

252-456: A breakdown or design fault in the sanitation system, or by chemical contaminants. Further examples of contamination include: Examples of chemical contamination include: Most water requires some treatment before use; even water from deep wells or springs. The extent of treatment depends on the source of the water. Appropriate technology options in water treatment include both community-scale and household-scale point-of-use (POU) designs. Only

336-503: A bypass pipe, uses it as well. The bypass valves are non-regulating valves, and when opened, only the head in the Quabbin Reservoir and the physical characteristics of the aqueduct govern the flow. Because the turbines are flow limited, the bypass mechanism permits transfer rates nearly twice as high as are possible through the turbines. Operationally, the single aqueduct fulfills three purposes, but only one operational mode

420-452: A chronic health risk through buildup of heavy metals although some components like nitrates/nitrites and arsenic can have a more immediate impact. Physical parameters affect the aesthetics and taste of the drinking water and may complicate the removal of microbial pathogens. Pesticides are also potential drinking water contaminants of the category chemical contaminants . Pesticides may be present in drinking water in low concentrations, but

504-566: A component of effective policy for health protection." In 1990, only 76 percent of the global population had access to drinking water. By 2015 that number had increased to 91 percent. In 1990, most countries in Latin America, East and South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa were well below 90%. In Sub-Saharan Africa, where the rates are lowest, household access ranges from 40 to 80 percent. Countries that experience violent conflict can have reductions in drinking water access: One study found that

588-523: A conflict with about 2,500 battle deaths deprives 1.8% of the population of potable water. Typically in developed countries , tap water meets drinking water quality standards , even though only a small proportion is actually consumed or used in food preparation. Other typical uses for tap water include washing, toilets, and irrigation . Greywater may also be used for toilets or irrigation. Its use for irrigation however may be associated with risks. Globally, by 2015, 89% of people had access to water from

672-586: A farmer might plan for 35 U.S. gallons (130 L) per day for a dairy cow , a third of that for a horse , and a tenth of that for a hog . However, relatively few studies have been focused on the drinking behavior of wild animals. According to the World Health Organization's 2017 report, safe drinking water is water that "does not represent any significant risk to health over a lifetime of consumption, including different sensitivities that may occur between life stages". According to

756-421: A few large urban areas such as Christchurch , New Zealand have access to sufficiently pure water of sufficient volume that no treatment of the raw water is required. In emergency situations when conventional treatment systems have been compromised, waterborne pathogens may be killed or inactivated by boiling but this requires abundant sources of fuel, and can be very onerous on consumers, especially where it

840-407: A hot climate, up to 16 litres (4.2 US gal) a day may be required. About 1 to 2 billion people lack safe drinking water. Water can carry vectors of disease . More people die from unsafe water than from war, then- U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said in 2010. Developing countries are most affected by unsafe drinking water. Potable water is available in almost all populated areas of

924-777: A negative effect on child development (both physical and cognitive). Sixty million people are estimated to have been poisoned by well water contaminated by excessive fluoride , which dissolved from granite rocks. The effects are particularly evident in the bone deformations of children. Similar or larger problems are anticipated in other countries including China, Uzbekistan, and Ethiopia. Although helpful for dental health in low dosage, fluoride in large amounts interferes with bone formation. Long-term consumption of water with high fluoride concentration (> 1.5 ppm F) can have serious undesirable consequences such as dental fluorosis , enamel mottle and skeletal fluorosis , bone deformities in children. Fluorosis severity depends on how much fluoride

SECTION 10

#1732783680970

1008-621: A number of combined sewage overflow prevention storage tunnels and emergency discharge points. MWRA assumed legal responsibility for the Clinton Wastewater Treatment Plant in 1987. The facility serves Clinton and a portion of the town of Lancaster . It discharges into the South Nashua River . MWRA, its predecessors, and the town of Clinton have had funding disputes over the plant, which was created to compensate Clinton for sewage problems caused by

1092-451: A report by UNICEF and UNESCO , Finland has the best drinking water quality in the world. Parameters for drinking water quality typically fall within three categories: microbiological, chemical, physical. Microbiological parameters include coliform bacteria , E. coli , and specific pathogenic species of bacteria (such as cholera -causing Vibrio cholerae ), viruses , and protozoan parasites . Originally, fecal contamination

1176-578: A source that is suitable for drinking – called improved water source  – and 71% of the world could access safely managed drinking water that is clean and available on-demand. Estimates suggest that at least 25% of improved sources contain fecal contamination. 1.8 billion people still use an unsafe drinking water source which may be contaminated by feces . This can result in infectious diseases , such as gastroenteritis , cholera , and typhoid , among others. Reduction of waterborne diseases and development of safe water resources

1260-481: A source that is suitable for drinking – called improved water sources . In sub-Saharan Africa , access to potable water ranged from 40% to 80% of the population. Nearly 4.2 billion people worldwide had access to tap water, while another 2.4 billion had access to wells or public taps. By 2015, 5.2 billion people representing 71% of the global population used safely managed drinking water services. As of 2017, 90% of people having access to water from

1344-520: A southern loop. A smaller service main in Boston would provide redundancy for the remainder of the Dorchester Tunnel. As of 2018, the project is expected to take 17 to 23 years to design and construct. Various other "Metropolitan Redundancy Interim Improvements" would increase reliability in the short term and in the long term help eliminate any single point of failure that would necessitate

1428-564: A volume of 11.3 million US gallons (43,000 m). The plant has a capacity of 275 million US gallons (1,040,000 m) per day, on an average day or 405 million US gallons (1,530,000 m) per day, at peak level. It cost US$ 340 million. The MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel (MWWST) carries water further east, passing the Norumbega Reservoir, Schneck's Pond, and Norumbega Covered Storage in Weston. Near Route 128 and

1512-493: A year. Leakage of untreated and treated water from pipes reduces access to water. Leakage rates of 50% are not uncommon in urban systems. Tap water , delivered by domestic water systems refers to water piped to homes and delivered to a tap or spigot. In the United States, the typical water consumption per capita, at home, is 69.3 US gallons (262 L; 57.7 imp gal) of water per day. Of this, only 1% of

1596-517: Is WASH - standing for water, sanitation and hygiene . The WHO has investigated which proportion of death and disease worldwide can be attributed to insufficient WASH services. In their analysis they focus on the following four health outcomes: diarrhea , acute respiratory infections , malnutrition , and soil-transmitted Helminthiasis (STHs). These health outcomes are also included as an indicator for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 ("Good Health and Well-being"): Indicator 3.9.2 reports on

1680-419: Is atmospheric water generators . Springs are often used as sources for bottled waters . The most efficient and convenient way to transport and deliver potable water is through pipes. Plumbing can require significant capital investment. Some systems suffer high operating costs. The cost to replace the deteriorating water and sanitation infrastructure of industrialized countries may be as high as $ 200 billion

1764-436: Is a major public health goal in developing countries. In 2017, almost 22 million Americans drank from water systems that were in violation of public health standards, which could contribute to citizens developing water-borne illnesses . Safe drinking water is an environmental health concern. Bottled water is sold for public consumption in most parts of the world. Improved sources are also monitored based on whether water

SECTION 20

#1732783680970

1848-658: Is available when needed (5.8 billion people), located on premises (5.4 billion), free from contamination (5.4 billion), and within a 30-minute round trip. While improved water sources such as protected piped water are more likely to provide safe and adequate water as they may prevent contact with human excreta, for example, this is not always the case. According to a 2014 study, approximately 25% of improved sources contained fecal contamination. The population in Australia, New Zealand, North America and Europe have achieved nearly universal basic drinking water services. Because of

1932-647: Is called desalination and is used mainly in dry areas with access to large bodies of saltwater. Publicly available treated water has historically been associated with major increases in life expectancy and improved public health . Water disinfection can greatly reduce the risks of waterborne diseases such as typhoid and cholera . Chlorination is currently the most widely used water disinfection method, although chlorine compounds can react with substances in water and produce disinfection by-products (DBP) that pose problems to human health. Local geological conditions affecting groundwater are determining factors for

2016-743: Is collected from the town of Rutland , the town of Holden , portions of West Boylston via Holden, and Anna Maria College in Paxton . Sewage flows out of the MWRA's jurisdiction, into the sewage system of the city of Worcester , treated by the Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District at a plant in Millbury , and discharged into the Blackstone River . The source towns and college pay

2100-427: Is difficult to store boiled water in sterile conditions. Other techniques, such as filtration, chemical disinfection, and exposure to ultraviolet radiation (including solar UV) have been demonstrated in an array of randomized control trials to significantly reduce levels of water-borne disease among users in low-income countries, but these suffer from the same problems as boiling methods. Another type of water treatment

2184-654: Is now landfilled. Dumping of sludge into Boston Harbor ended in 1991 by using a facility in Quincy to convert it into fertilizer. Sewage processing was improved and consolidated at Deer Island in the 1990s, with a deep-water discharge system finished in 2000. In 1993, the Charlestown sewage pumping station was named after long-time MWRA sewage engineer Peter M. DeLauri. Federally mandated projects to reduce combined sewer outflow events into Boston Harbor and local rivers were ongoing as of 2004. The South Boston CSO Storage Tunnel

2268-598: Is planning to use a tunnel boring machine to dig two new 10-foot-diameter tunnels from Shaft 55A in Weston. The new Northern Tunnel would go to the Waltham-Belmont border, and together with smaller service mains in Belmont, Arlington, and Medford, would form a loop with the City Extension Tunnel and City Tunnel. The new Southern Tunnel would go to Shaft 7C on the Dorchester Tunnel in Boston, forming

2352-799: Is possible at a given time. MRWA also owns and operates several solar power and wind power facilities to help meet Massachusetts' greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, and undertakes energy efficiency projects. One wind turbine is located at the Charlestown sewage pumping station, near Encore Boston Harbor , with a rated capacity of 1.5 MW. As a large customer, the MWRA also generates its own electricity at Deer Island Sewage Treatment Plant and Carroll Water Treatment Plant during periods of high demand to earn money with demand response contracts and to avoid high peak-time prices. This further reduces emissions from less-efficient grid peaking power plants that would otherwise be needed. Local wells, springs (including one on Boston Common ), and rain barrels were

2436-513: Is present in the water, as well as people's diet and physical activity. Defluoridation methods include membrane-based methods, precipitation, absorption, and electrocoagulation. Natural arsenic contamination of groundwater is a global threat with 140 million people affected in 70 countries globally. Some well-known examples of water quality problems with drinking water supplies include: Water supply can get contaminated by pathogens which may originate from human excreta , for example due to

2520-450: Is reliably available) starting in 1969. Though diverting water from the yet further westward Connecticut River was considered several times, in 1986, the MWRA instead undertook a campaign of water conservation . Demand was reduced to sustainable levels by 1989, and continued to drop to around 220 million US gallons (830,000 m) per day by 2009. From 1996 to 2009, the MWRA constructed sanitary covered storage tanks. These are now

2604-510: Is responsible for designing and operating its own program; MWRA estimates this funding will be enough to removal all lead service pipes from the entire system. MWRA has adjusted water pH since 1996 to avoid corrosion and leaching of lead from remaining pipes into drinking water. Burlington, Massachusetts town meeting voted in 2018 to connect to the MWRA via Arlington, to make up for a partial shutdown of its Vine Brook Treatment Plant due to wells contaminated with 1,4 dioxane . Another vote to fund

Massachusetts Water Resources Authority - Misplaced Pages Continue

2688-710: Is the successor to the MDC, and still maintains the watershed lands. The MWRA service area covers fifty-eight communities in Greater Boston and MetroWest plus three communities in Western Massachusetts , ( Chicopee , Wilbraham , and South Hadley ). The table below shows the services communities receive. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) own and operate

2772-458: Is to reach large numbers of low-income households on a sustainable basis. Few POU measures have reached significant scale thus far, but efforts to promote and commercially distribute these products to the world's poor have only been under way for a few years. Solar water disinfection is a low-cost method of purifying water that can often be implemented with locally available materials. Unlike methods that rely on firewood , it has low impact on

2856-619: The COVID-19 pandemic in Massachusetts . It started the process of making an emergency interconnection to the Lynnfield Water District, which is supplied by the MWRA. Because they have no alternative routes, City Tunnel, City Tunnel Extension, and Dorchester Tunnel cannot be taken out of service for more than a day for maintenance. Some of the valves that would allow that to happen are corroded or underwater. The MWRA

2940-717: The Cochituate Aqueduct leading to the Brookline Reservoir and local storage such as the Beacon Hill Reservoir . When Boston annexed Charlestown in 1873, the Mystic Lakes system was added to Boston's water supply. The Cochituate Reservoir and Aqueduct were abandoned in 1951; none of the other reservoirs or lakes are currently in use as part of the primary or backup water supply. The Boston Water Board constructed seven reservoirs in

3024-671: The European Drinking Water Directive and in the United States, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establishes standards as required by the Safe Drinking Water Act . China adopted its own drinking water standard GB3838-2002 (Type II) enacted by Ministry of Environmental Protection in 2002. For countries without a legislative or administrative framework for such standards,

3108-907: The Merrimack River , the Metropolitan Water Board decided to create the world record-setting Wachusett Reservoir by damming the Nashua River in Clinton, Massachusetts . It was completed in 1905 and filled in 1908, feeding the Wachusett Aqueduct . Water travelled to the Boston area via the Weston Aqueduct and the Weston Reservoir , or via the new Sudbury Reservoir and the older Sudbury Aqueduct. Continued growth in water demand prompted

3192-833: The Quabbin Aqueduct to the Wachusett Reservoir in and around Boylston and Clinton . Tributary rivers and streams comprising the Wachusett watershed, a 108 square mile (280 square kilometer) drainage basin, also feed the Wachusett Reservoir . The Cosgrove Tunnel carries water from there to the John J. Carroll Water Treatment Plant , located at the town lines of Marlborough , Northborough , and Southborough, Massachusetts . The plant replaced one used previously only for pH control. It comprises four ozone generators with diffusers and five concrete contact chambers with

3276-813: The Sudbury River from No. 3, and are no longer designated as emergency water supplies. Construction on a redundant barrel of the Chicopee Valley Aqueduct was substantially complete in 2008. During the failure of the interconnection between the MWWST and City Tunnel in May 2010, the MWRA drew water from the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, Spot Pond Reservoir, and Sudbury Reservoir via the Sudbury Aqueduct. The Hultman Aqueduct

3360-725: The Sudbury River watershed from 1875 to 1898. Water impounded in these reservoirs was delivered to the Chestnut Hill Reservoir by the Sudbury Aqueduct , completed in 1878. Some distribution mains serving the Boston Low Service area date to the period when water was gravity-fed from the Brookline and Chestnut Hill Reservoirs. (These were transferred to Weston Reservoir by 1900, and covered storage in Weston by 1978, with supplemental service from

3444-544: The Ware River in central and western Massachusetts. For sewage, it operates a large treatment center on Deer Island at the mouth of Boston Harbor , among other properties. The modern MWRA was created in 1985 after being split from the Metropolitan District Commission . It gained the ability to raise its own revenues and issues its own bonds. The Department of Conservation and Recreation

Massachusetts Water Resources Authority - Misplaced Pages Continue

3528-568: The Weston Reservoir (a backup surface storage reservoir). The Hultman Aqueduct and the MWWST connect with the Sudbury Reservoir and Weston Aqueduct. The Sudbury Aqueduct runs from Foss Reservoir (Framingham Reservoir No. 3) in Framingham directly to the Chestnut Hill Reservoir , parallelling the MWWST. Sudbury Reservoir and Foss Reservoir are connected by a surface waterway. Framingham Reservoirs No. 1 and No. 2 are downstream on

3612-528: The World Health Organization publishes guidelines on the standards that should be achieved. The World Health Organization considers access to safe drinking-water a basic human right. Contaminated water is estimated to result in more than half a million deaths per year. Contaminated water together with the lack of sanitation was estimated to cause about one percent of disability adjusted life years worldwide in 2010. According to

3696-692: The toxicity of the chemical and the extent of human exposure are factors that are used to determine the specific health risk. Perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS) are a group of synthetic compounds used in a large variety of consumer products, such as food packaging , waterproof fabrics, carpeting and cookware. PFAS are known to persist in the environment and are commonly described as persistent organic pollutants . PFAS chemicals have been detected in blood, both humans and animals, worldwide, as well as in food products, water, air and soil. Animal testing studies with PFAS have shown effects on growth and development, and possibly effects on reproduction, thyroid,

3780-678: The turbines at Oakdale or through bypass pipes when flow requirements exceed turbine ratings. Water released from Wachusett into the Cosgrove Tunnel passes through the Cosgrove turbines . The 4 original turbines in the Wachusett Gatehouse, located at the start of the Wachusett Aqueduct, have not been used in over 40 years. A 1.54MW turbine is currently being installed at the dam. A turbine at Southborough at

3864-567: The "mortality rate attributed to unsafe water, sanitation, and lack of hygiene". Diarrhea is primarily transmitted through fecal–oral routes . In 2011, infectious diarrhea resulted in about 0.7 million deaths in children under five years old and 250 million lost school days. This equates to about 2000 child deaths per day. Children suffering from diarrhea are more vulnerable to become underweight (due to stunted growth ). This makes them more vulnerable to other diseases such as acute respiratory infections and malaria . Chronic diarrhea can have

3948-673: The 1926 construction of the Wachusett-Coldbrook Tunnel to tap seasonal excess water in the Ware River . The tunnel was extended to the Swift River to become the Quabbin Aqueduct . The Metropolitan Water Supply Commission began construction of the massive Quabbin Reservoir in 1936, and it took from 1939 to 1946 to fill the reservoir. The creation of the new reservoir resulted in the disincorporation of four Western Massachusetts towns. The Chicopee Valley Aqueduct

4032-568: The Boston Main Drainage System was completed, carrying sewage from 18 towns to Moon Island to be held for an outgoing tide. In the early 1900s, the sewage was pumped directly into Boston Harbor. The Metropolitan District Commission built a sewage treatment plant at Nut Island in 1952, and another at Deer Island in 1968. The Clean Water Act of 1972 imposed more stringent requirements. MWRA stopped discharging floating debris and fluids (scum) into Boston Harbor in 1989; it

4116-705: The Charles River, it splits in two, feeding regional distribution lines at the Loring Road Tanks and an interconnection with the City Tunnel passing into Newton. In the Chestnut Hill area, the City Tunnel splits into the City Tunnel Extension (northeast) and Dorchester Tunnel (southeast), which act as backbones for smaller distribution mains and feed various regional storage tanks. The Chicopee Valley Aqueduct carries water from

4200-799: The City Tunnel and City Tunnel Extension.) In the late 1800s, water was pumped from Chestnut Hill to the Waban Hill Reservoir in Newton and the Fisher Hill Reservoir in Brookline to create the Southern High Service zone. Other pumping stations were also added: one at Alewife Brook in Somerville and another at Spot Pond in Stoneham . Some of the distribution mains carrying the now-unused supply from

4284-901: The Deer Island Treatment plant from Chelsea Creek , the Columbus Park neighborhood of South Boston, the new Nut Island Headworks, Ward Street in Roxbury , and the Winthrop Terminal Facility. Thirteen pumping stations help feed the system, including the Intermediate Pumping Station in North Weymouth, DeLauri station in Charlestown, and a rehabilitated station on Alewife Brook Parkway in Somerville. The system also has

SECTION 50

#1732783680970

4368-607: The MWRA-defined "safe yield", and desiring to amortize over more ratepayers the fixed costs of large projects like the MetroWest Tunnel and Deer Island sewage treatment plant, the MWRA is seeking to add more wholesale water customers, including municipalities and properties straddling the border of its service area. At the same time, certain communities in Massachusetts are facing a shortage of available water due to population growth or other factors. From 2002 to 2009,

4452-652: The Mystic Lakes, and those connecting Chestnut Hill with these mains and Spot Pond, are still supplying the northern Low Service area. Spot Pond served the northern Low Service zone, and pumped water to the Fells Reservoir to create the Northern High Service zone. Population growth and the increasing popularity of indoor plumbing continued to put pressure on the region's water supply. After considering Lake Winnipesaukee , Sebago Lake , and

4536-831: The Quabbin Reservoir to the Western Massachusetts communities of Chicopee, Wilbraham and South Hadley (Fire District No. 1). It passes through the Ware Water Treatment Facility and the Nash Hill Covered Reservoir in Ludlow. The water system is divided into seven pressure zones, needed because different consumers are at different altitudes. The seven zones, measured from "Boston City Base" level are approximately: The major MWRA water storage facilities outside of

4620-461: The WHO, the most common diseases linked with poor water quality are cholera , diarrhea , dysentery , hepatitis A , typhoid , and polio . One of the main causes for contaminated drinking water in developing countries is lack of sanitation and poor hygiene. For this reason, the quantification of the burden of disease from consuming contaminated drinking water usually looks at water, sanitation and hygiene aspects together. The acronym for this

4704-408: The Wachusett Reservoir to the Carroll Water Treatment Plant. It was used for this purpose during a tunnel shutdown in 2003. The Hultman Aqueduct begins at the Carroll Water Treatment Plant and parallels the MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel (MWWST), which replaced it in 2003. After the MWWST's completion the Hultman Aqueduct underwent a major reconstruction project, which lasted from 2009 to 2014, with

4788-518: The city of Worcester for treatment and MWRA for operational costs based on flow rates. MWRA Total Water Demand and Wastewater Generation [2] Year Demand (Withdrawals) Public authority A public-benefit nonprofit corporation is a type of nonprofit corporation chartered by a U.S. state government , and organized primarily or exclusively for social , educational , recreational or charitable purposes by like-minded citizens. Public-benefit nonprofit corporations are distinct in

4872-431: The collection, treatment, distribution, and storage facilities that supply drinking water to some forty municipalities in the metropolitan Boston area. This water system design was based upon the purchase and subsequent protection of an entire watershed. This design assures that the water remains as pristine as possible. However, modern regulations require that all supplies of drinking water be chemically treated regardless of

4956-447: The connection between the MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel and the City Tunnel. This resulted in activation of the backup reservoir system for the first time, and a boil-water order for the entire MWRA system affecting approximately two million residents of 31 cities and towns. On May 4, test results indicating the backup water supply was clean enabled lifting of the boil water order. Given that conservation efforts brought demand well below

5040-413: The construction of the Wachusett Reservoir . The Rutland-Holden Trunk Sewer was completed in 1934, and the Rutland-Holden Relief Trunk Sewer added capacity in the 1980s. These lines are state projects to improve quality of public drinking water sources: the Wachusett Reservoir, Quinapoxet River , and Ware River. They are owned by the Department of Conservation and Recreation and operated by MWRA. Sewage

5124-404: The environment. In many areas, low concentration of fluoride (< 1.0 ppm F) is intentionally added to tap water to improve dental health , although in some communities water fluoridation remains a controversial issue. (See water fluoridation controversy ). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "access to safe drinking-water is essential to health, a basic human right and

SECTION 60

#1732783680970

5208-432: The first sources of water for Boston residents. Jamaica Pond was used as a water source for Boston starting in 1795, using wooden pipes (later with cast iron). After several epidemics and fires which exposed the inadequacy of the water supply, the Cochituate System was constructed by the Cochituate Water Board, starting in 1845 and opening in 1848. It included a dam on the Sudbury River , creating Lake Cochituate which fed

5292-472: The following municipalities and other customers have been added to the system: MWRA and municipal water mains are made of concrete, steel, and iron, but as of 2016, about 5% of service lines (between the street and buildings, running from public to private property) in various municipalities were still made of lead. In 2016, during the Flint water crisis , the MWRA board approved $ 100 million in zero-interest loans for lead pipe removal. Each affected municipality

5376-433: The goal of maintaining it as a standby alternative to the MWWST. With the completion of its refurbishment in 2014 it returned to standby status for use in the event the MWWST is unavailable. The Wachusett Aqueduct open channel extends past the Carroll Water Treatment Plant and connects the underground portion of the Wachusett Aqueduct to the Sudbury Reservoir. Before the Hultman and Cosgrove aqueducts were built this served as

5460-471: The high initial investments, many less wealthy nations cannot afford to develop or sustain appropriate infrastructure, and as a consequence people in these areas may spend a correspondingly higher fraction of their income on water. 2003 statistics from El Salvador, for example, indicate that the poorest 20% of households spend more than 10% of their total income on water. In the United Kingdom, authorities define spending of more than 3% of one's income on water as

5544-402: The immune system and liver. As of 2022 the health impacts of many PFAS compounds are not understood. Scientists are conducting research to determine the extent and severity of impacts from PFAS on human health. PFAS have been widely detected in drinking water worldwide and regulations have been developed, or are under development, in many countries. Drinking water quality standards describes

5628-537: The law from mutual-benefit nonprofit corporations in that they are organized for the general public benefit , rather than for the interest of its members. They are also distinct in the law from religious corporations . This organization-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Potable water The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, age, health-related issues, and environmental conditions. For those who work in

5712-420: The matter is resolved. The ability of point of use (POU) options to reduce disease is a function of both their ability to remove microbial pathogens if properly applied and such social factors as ease of use and cultural appropriateness. Technologies may generate more (or less) health benefit than their lab-based microbial removal performance would suggest. The current priority of the proponents of POU treatment

5796-443: The need for a boil-water order; part of the delay was the need for follow-up testing. The system includes three hydropower stations (one inactive) and two wind turbines, with a total capacity of 19.8 MW. Water released to the Swift River flows through the Winsor Station below the Winsor Dam but the turbines were damaged in a fire and have not been reactivated. Water transferred from Quabbin to Wachusett can pass either through

5880-487: The presence of various metal ions , often rendering the water " soft " or " hard ". In the event of contamination of drinking water, government officials typically issue an advisory regarding water consumption. In the case of biological contamination , residents are usually advised to boil their water before consumption or to use bottled water as an alternative. In the case of chemical contamination , residents may be advised to refrain from consuming tap water entirely until

5964-493: The primary local storage; the remaining small uncovered reservoirs are only used for backup because the water from these basins would require further treatment. The MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel was finished in 2003, allowing rehabilitation of the increasingly leaky Hultman Aqueduct. The 2010 Boston Water Emergency was caused by a catastrophic failure of a collar connecting two sections of 10-foot-wide (3.0 m) pipe that ruptured in Weston, Massachusetts , on May 1, disrupting

6048-733: The primary method of transmission for water from the Wachusett Reservoir. Although no longer used for that purpose it is maintained as emergency transmission. In an emergency this can be used to feed untreated Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoir water into the emergency source reservoirs. The backup Weston Aqueduct runs from the Sudbury Reservoir in Framingham , running to the Loring Road storage tanks in Weston via

6132-443: The quality parameters set for drinking water. Water may contain many harmful constituents , yet there are no universally recognized and accepted international standards for drinking water. Even where standards do exist, the permitted concentration of individual constituents may vary by as much as ten times from one set of standards to another. Many countries specify standards to be applied in their own country. In Europe, this includes

6216-589: The second phase of construction is expected in 2021. In the meantime, Burlington gets MWRA water via Lexington if supplies drop to the point that a full outdoor watering ban is necessary (which happened during the drought of summer 2020). In June 2020, the Lynnfield Center Water District (one of two districts in Lynnfield, Massachusetts ) reached its pumping capacity, due to a combination of drought and high residential water usage during

6300-503: The source reservoirs are listed below. Covered storage facilities (242.7 million US gallons (919,000 m) total capacity) are in primary use, and surface reservoirs are used as backup only. (Uncovered reservoirs cannot store potable water without the need for later treatment). The Wachusett Aqueduct is an older parallel conduit to the Cosgrove Tunnel , and is still available as standby transmission for moving water from

6384-468: The source. Additions to the MWRA water system throughout its history have resulted in redundancies that allow major sections of the water system to be shut down for repair or maintenance. The MWRA Operations Control Center is in Chelsea. Primary sources: Backup sources: Water bound for Greater Boston flows from the MWRA's main storage facility, the Quabbin Reservoir in central Massachusetts, through

6468-537: The start of the Weston Aqueduct has also been inactive for a long period. The Quabbin Aqueduct connects the two reservoirs, and relies upon gravity to accommodate the three separate operational needs. First, diversion of water from the Ware River into the Quabbin Reservoir uses this aqueduct. Second, water transfer from the Quabbin Reservoir to the Wachusett Reservoir , through a hydropower station or

6552-437: The water provided by public water suppliers is for drinking and cooking. Uses include (in decreasing order) toilets, washing machines, showers, baths, faucets, and leaks. As of 2015, American households use an average of 300 gallons of water a day. The qualitative and quantitative aspects of drinking water requirements on domesticated animals are studied and described within the context of animal husbandry . For example,

6636-438: The way to Fells and Blue Hills reservoirs, respectively. The Dorchester Tunnel allowed the relegation of the Sudbury Aqueduct and Chestnut Hill Reservoir to backup status, which also improved water quality. The redundant Cosgrove Tunnel was finished in 1965, allowing maintenance of the Wachusett Aqueduct. Demand for water exceeded the "safe supply" of 300 million US gallons (1,100,000 m) per day (for which precipitation

6720-480: The world, although it may be expensive, and the supply may not always be sustainable. Sources where drinking water is commonly obtained include springs , hyporheic zones and aquifers ( groundwater ), from rainwater harvesting , surface water (from rivers, streams, glaciers ), or desalinated seawater . For these water sources to be consumed safely, they must receive adequate water treatment and meet drinking water quality standards . An experimental source

6804-592: Was completed in 1950. Other pressure zones were created around Route 128 suburbs in 1951 by adding several pumping stations. Capacity was expanded in 1941 with the completion of the Hultman Aqueduct (which connected the Wachusett Aqueduct to the end of the Weston Aqueduct at Norumbega). The City Tunnel was added in 1951, connecting to the Chestnut Hill nexus. The City Tunnel Extension (1961) and Dorchester Tunnel (1978) carried high-pressure water part of

6888-715: Was completed in 2011. Sludge is transported from Deer Island via the Inter-Island Tunnel to Quincy, where it is pelletized for sale as fertilizer by the New England Fertilizer Company and the MWRA itself doing business as Bay State Fertilizer. Some fertilizer is transported by the MWRA-owned Fore River Railroad . Discharges to Massachusetts Bay are disinfected with sodium hypochlorite , then de-chlorinated with sodium bisulfite . Major headworks send sewage to

6972-658: Was determined with the presence of coliform bacteria , a convenient marker for a class of harmful fecal pathogens . The presence of fecal coliforms (like E. Coli ) serves as an indication of contamination by sewage . Additional contaminants include protozoan oocysts such as Cryptosporidium sp. , Giardia lamblia , Legionella , and viruses (enteric). Microbial pathogenic parameters are typically of greatest concern because of their immediate health risk. Physical and chemical parameters include heavy metals , trace organic compounds , total suspended solids , and turbidity . Chemical parameters tend to pose more of

7056-403: Was unavailable as a backup as it was undergoing reconstruction at the time. In an emergency, water can be treated with sodium hypochlorite at any point in the system by deploying Mobile Disinfection Units – trailer-mounted units that the MWRA has stored at strategic locations throughout its system. Emergency chlorination was used during the main break of May 2010, but not quickly enough to prevent

#969030