Hydrant flushing will begin on October 14th. We'll flush for a week and then take 2 weeks off for Easter and resume on April 29th.  We plan to follow the normal route which is posed onlne at flushing.topsfieldpublicworks.org

Flushing removes sediment from the water mains, identifies hydrants in need of repair and checks system fire flows. Customers will have rust colored or black water while the water mains are flushed and for a period afterwards. The work will be conducted on weeknights from 9 PM until 1 AM to minimize the disruption. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Manganese levels in areas being flushed will be higher than normal and may exceed levels described in the drinking water advisory issued in November 2013. Do not drink, cook or make formula with the discolored water. Avoid using hot water while the cold water is discolored. Doing so will allow sediment to accumulate in your hot water tank and will take longer for the hot water to clear.

This is the first round of flushing to be done since the water treatment plant started operation.  It will probably take a couple of rounds of flushing before all of the sediment is removed from the distribution mains.

The Board of Water Commissioners have set the FY2020 water rates.   The new rate schedule is available online.  The rates are based on the budget approved at Town Meeting in May 2019 and the water use forecast for FY2020.

The Topsfield Water Department has instituted a Voluntary Outdoor Water Restriction effective June 10, 2019. The restriction is needed due to warmer weather and associated increase in water demand.  We expect a mandatory restriction will be needed by the middle of July.

Public water customers, including all residents and businesses connected to the Town's water system, are asked to curtail nonessential outdoor water use between the hours of 9 AM to 5 PM. Essential outdoor water use includes those uses that have a health or safety impact, are required by regulation or are needed to meet the core functions of a business or organization.  The restriction does not apply to private wells at this time.

In addition to limiting 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 showerheads.
• Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator, rather than running the faucet.
• Consider replacing water intensive lawns with low water demand plants and grasses. The Water Department has several guide books that are available to residents.

Please call the Water Department at (978) 887-1517 if you have any questions.

The 2018 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.

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:

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.