The Water Department is accepting applications for a Seasonal Laborer position.  Click here for more information and here for an application.

The Board of Water Commissioners have set the FY2021 water rates.   The FY2021 rate schedule is available online.  The rates are based on the budget approved at Town Meeting in June 2020 and the water use forecast for FY2021.

The 2019 Water Quality Report is available online.  Copies will be mailed to customers and will also be available at the Water Department Office once they are printed.  Please visit our water quality website http://watertesting.topsfieldpublicworks.org for more water testing results.

The Topsfield Water Department has implemented a Mandatory Outdoor Water Use Restriction effective June 8, 2020 due to very low Ipswich River stream flow, higher than normal water use and concerns about the availabilty of water.

Outdoor water use is restricted to hand-held implements only before 9 AM and after 5 PM.  The use of irrigations systems at any time is prohibited.  The restrictions apply to public water customers.

In addition to curtailing outdoor use the Water Department encourages the following conservation measures:

• Run your dishwasher and clothes washer only when full.
• Fix any leaks around the house.
• Install water efficient toilets, faucets and shower heads.
• Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator, rather than running the faucet.
• Consider replacing water intensive lawns with a xeriscape (low water demand) flower garden.

The mandatory restrictions will be in effect until further notice but typically run through the end of September.  

The Board of Water Commissioners has scheduled a rate hearing for June 29, 2020 at 1:00 PM at the Public Works Building located at 279 Boston Street.  The purpose of the hearing is to set water rates for FY2021.

Town of Topsfield Tree Warden
Public Notice National Grid Hazard Tree Removal

National Grid Electric is in the process of canvassing town identifying dead, diseased, hazardous, or dying trees. This is necessary in order to improve the reliability of electrical service and to reduce the number of outages in Topsfield that have become more prevalent in the past few years. At the present time they are concentrating on their three phase 13kV feeder circuits. This represents about half of the town. The majority of this work will be on main roads such as Boston St, Main Street, Central Street, High St, Ipswich Rd, and Washington Street. There are streets such as Hill St, Rowley Bridge Rd, and Wenham Rd that will be affected as well. The above is not a complete list.

We receive calls about higher than normal water bills on a regular basis. Under normal circumstances we’d schedule an appointment to visually check the meter, look for leaks, etc. However, we are not entering homes or businesses for the foreseeable future unless it’s for an emergency.

When confronted with a high bill, customers often ask questions such as where did the water go or how could I possibly use that much water. Well the simplest answer is that from the limited information available, there is really no possible way for us to know where the water went once it went through the meter. The information used to generate the bill – start and end meter readings can be augmented with one or two readings taken during the billing cycle and that is about it. A similar question would be where did I drive my car over the past 3 months based on start/end odometer readings. The result would be a similar answer - we don’t know where you went, just how far.

However, if monthly readings are available then the pattern and volume of use may make one explanation more reasonable than others but in the end it’s our best guess. In some cases, an explanation can’t be found and it comes down to meter accuracy – did the water go through the meter or not. Meters are typically pulled and sent to a vendor for testing when this occurs. 

 Once the readings are verified then we can start asking questions such as:

The Water & Highway Department offices wil be closed until further notice.  Both departments will be available by phone and email. 

Highway Department

• 978-887-1542
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Water Department

• 978-887-1517
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The Water Department is limiting indoor site visits to water sampling and emergencies such as no water, a severe leak, etc.  There are a limited number of licensed personnel that are able to operate the water system and treatment plant and we are trying to limit their exposure to ensure we can continue to provide uninterrupted service during this period.

Our water system uses groundwater wells to supply water for our customers.  The water undergoes a variety of treatment processes to improve its quality in order to meet drinking water regulations. 

The first process is natural filtration through the sand and gravel deposits near the wells.  As water travels from the land surface towards the wells, the naturally occuring sand and gravel deposits filter out many contaminants including coliform bacteria, vegetative debris, and others that are commonly found on the surface of the ground or in nearby surface water bodies.

Once the water is in our supply system it travels to the water treatment plant for additional treatment including disinfection, pH adjustment, greensand filtration, aeration, fluoridation and sequestration/corrosion control.  The raw water is treated in the following order: