The water main on Averill Street near the Route 1 intersection broke early this morning.  The repair crew is on the way but it will take several hours before water service is restored.  It is severe break and several hundred thousand gallons were lost.  Many customers may have discolored water due to the high flows cause by the main failure.  Water is off to Averill Street and Boston Street (363 to 387).

The repair crew is on the way and Digsafe has been called.  Repair work will begin once the other underground utilities are marked.  Water service should be restored by mid-morning.

If your water is discolored run the cold water until it clears before using any hot water.

November Update: This round of flushing is now complete.  The next round is scheduled to start in April 2019.

The Board of Water Commissioners have set the FY2019 water rates.   The new rate schedule is available online and includes an 26.1% increase in the water rate.  The rates are based on the budget approved at Town Meeting in May 2018 and the water use forecast for FY2019.

The rate increase is due to increases in the Water Department's reserves which have been increased in anticipation of bond costs for the Water Treatment Plant Project and short-term borrowing for capital projects.

The Town appropriated $10.4 million on June 20, 2017 for the construction of a water treatment plant and associated piping.  Substaintial completion of the project is expected in January 2019 which will be followed by several weeks of testing.  We're planning on using the plant to produce water by the end of February 2019.  Progress updates will be posted on a regular basis.

January Update: The plant treatment process is operation and undergoing performance testing using the Perkins Row source.  Manganese is being removed at expected rates and initial water quality testing appears to be very good.  Most of the electrical work is complete and vendors are finishing the installation of the HVAC system.

Water customers will receive a copy of the updated Manganese Drinking Water Advisory notice in the mail shortly.  The Water Department instituted an advisory in 2013 due to manganese contamination.  Recent tests have indicated on of our sources exceeds the MassDEP limit of 300 micrograms per Liter of manganese.

We conduct hundreds of water quality tests each year. Results are now available on our Water Quality Site which includes information about which water sources are in use. The site has been under development for several years and more functionality will be added as time permits.