Aquarion’s commitment: delivering clean, high‑quality water

Since acquiring the Colonial Water Company systems in December 2021, Aquarion has been focused on improving water quality, increasing system reliability, and promoting conservation.  The presentation at the link below provides a description of the water systems and the actions we’ve taken to improve the systems.

See latest infrastructure improvement update:

Sources of water supply

There are three separate service areas in our distribution system (see map):

1. Dover Main System, which is split into two pressure zones (main and downtown). The main pressure zone has historically been supplied by the Francis Street wells; note that the Draper Road wells can also be used to supply water to this pressure zone; however, Aquarion has not used these wells due to water quality issues. The downtown pressure zone is supplied at most times (and currently) by the Knollwood Drive wells.
2. Springdale Farms, which is supplied by our Springdale wells.
3. Chickering, which is supplied by our Chickering wells.

We experienced discolored water in the Dover Main System—specifically in the main pressure zone.

Water system upgrades

Week of October 23 (completed October 25, 2023)

• A new interconnection was opened to allow the higher-quality Knollwood wells to supply water to customers in the green highlighted area on the map of the Dover Main System.
• Customers in this green highlighted area no longer receive water from the Francis Street wells.
• Customers in the green highlighted area had a pressure reduction of approximately 35 PSI.
• Customers in the yellow highlighted area, which already receive Knollwood water, had a pressure increase of approximately 15 PSI. Following this permanent conversion to higher pressure, Aquarion advised you to check your plumbing for leaks—particularly the connections to washing machines, as well as pressure-relief settings on hot water tanks.

Week of October 30 (completed November 2, 2023)

• A new pump station went online at our Picardy Drive facility. This enabled Aquarion to move water from the Knollwood wells into the blue highlighted area on the map of the Dover Main System.
• Customers in the area highlighted in blue receive a portion of their water from the Knollwood wells.
• Customers in the northern portion of the blue highlighted area receive up to 100 percent of their water from the Knollwood wells.
• Customers in the southern portion of the blue highlighted area receive a mix of Knollwood and Francis Street water. The percentage depends on current water demands in the Dover Main System.
• Water pressure in the blue highlighted area remains unchanged.
  

What happened?

The water that we provide to homes served by our Springdale Farms System (PWSID MA3078008) comes from two wells located on our property at the end of Old Colony Drive (see map).

Test results in 2022 showed that the PFAS6 levels in the water from these wells had increased and exceeded the allowable level (referred to as the Maximum Contaminant Level or MCL) set by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) for the period 06/01/2022 to 09/30/2022 and 10/01/2022 to 12/31/2022. 

The PFAS test results are included in the Notices for both periods (1/10/23 Notice, 10/5/22 Notice). PFAS levels subsequently decreased and were below the MCL in early 2023. For past months’ PFAS results, please visit our PFAS FAQs page. Note that compliance with the MCL is based on the quarterly average of three months of test results.

What does this mean?

This is not an emergency. If it had been, you would have been notified within 24 hours. MassDEP requires us to distribute this Notice within 30 days of receiving the results for the last sample collected in each quarterly compliance period. Although this is not an emergency, you have a right to know what happened, what you should do, and what we did and are doing to correct this situation. Please refer to the Notices (1/10/23 Notice, 10/5/22 Notice) for this information.

We are taking the following corrective actions:

• We will continue to sample the water we provide monthly for PFAS.
• We are identifying and evaluating alternative solutions, including treatment to remove PFAS from the water, and providing water from our other wellfields in Dover.
• We are working with MassDEP to reduce the levels of PFAS, including providing this Notice, which has been reviewed and approved by the MassDEP.
• When additional information becomes available, the public notice will be updated.

Submit a claim for bottled water reimbursement

Aquarion Water Company is reimbursing households served by our Springdale water system for bottled water purchases made after October 1, 2022 because PFAS levels in the well water for that system exceed the regulatory limit.