Topsfield Public Works

Water

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Subcategories

Water Commissioners 3

The Board of Water Commissioners was created in the 1940s when the Town decided to create a water supply. At Town Meeting in May 2020, the Town voted to eliminate a number of elected boards and consolidate operations under the Town Administrator. This required approval of the Massachusetts Legislature and Governor which was finalized in January 2021. This section is still active for archival purposes.

BOWC Meeting Documents 3

Billing 13

The Water Department bills for water usage and other fees based on rates set by the Board of Water Commissioners. A rate hearing is usually held in the spring and is advertised in local papers. Click here for a listing of our current rates and charges. The revenue generated funds the Department's activities and capital improvements. We operate on an enterprise accounting system that keeps our funds completely separate from other Town departments.

Water Rates 9

Cross Connection Control Program (Backflow) 4

Welcome to our cross connection section. These connections are a specific class of connections to the distribution system that pose or could pose a health risk. Some of the more common cross connections in Topsfield include:

Filling a swimming pool with a garden hose while the end of the hose is below the flood rim of the pool.
Certain types of fire suppression systems.
Chemical mixing tanks.
Certain types of heating, ventilation and cooling systems.

Cross connections are pathways that could introduce contamination to the water distribution system under certain hydraulic conditions. We are required by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to run a Cross Connection Control Program to make sure these connections are properly protected by a backflow prevention device or eliminated. Some devices require annual or semi-annual testing based on the degree of hazard and we are required to make sure tests are done according to MassDEP's schedule.

Device Testing 1

Projects 4

Capital Projects & Planning 3

Supply 1

Treatment 1

Distribution 1

Hydrant Flushing 1

We are happy to announce that hydrant flushing will be reduced on once per year. This reduction from semi-annual flushing is due to the water treatment plant. We have yet to detect any manganese in the water leaving the plant and water quality in the distribution system has greatly improved.

Flushing will be done each spring. Typically flushing is done Monday - Thursday and takes approximately 6 weeks. The flushing schedule is available online at https://www.topsfieldpublicworks.org/apps/flushing/.

Water Resources Management 7

MassDEP Regulations 2

The Water Management Act gives the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection the authority to regulate ground water and surface water withdrawals in excess of 0.100 million gallons per day (MGD). The Water Management Act was enacted during the 1980's and there were quite a few water suppliers that fell under the new regulations. The regulations created what is refered to as a "registration" volume which is the amount of water historically withdrawn by the supplier at the time DEP's regulation took affect. Some suppliers have filed for water management permits to allow withdrawals in excess of the registration volume. The Town of Topsfield currently has a registration volume of 0.430 MGD and a permitted volume of 0.170 MGD.

Unaccounted For Water 1

Outdoor Water Use Restrictions 2

Water Quality 17

Annual Reports 9

Public Notices 1

PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances 5

PFAS are a broad group of manmade chemicals used for a wide variety of purposes. Used since the 1950s, these compounds are in fire-fighting foams, clothing, flame retardants, food packaging, water proofing materials, and carpeting to name a few. These compounds, of which there are reportedly thousands, are structurally and chemically different from each other but share certain properties such as very strong carbon-fluoride bonds that make them very durable in that they do not readily breakdown in the environment, are not affected by natural biological processes, and can persist for years.

Some of these compounds were first detected in our water during the fall of 2019. Further tests conducted in 2020 have confirmed the presence of these chemicals in varying amounts. We now test for 18 of these compounds on a monthly basis. For detailed testing results please visit our water quality site at https://www.topsfieldpublicworks.org/apps/watertesting/.

MassDEP promulgated new regulations concerning PFAS which took effect in October 2020.

Water Department Rules & Regulations 3

Water Specifications 2

Finances 3

This section contains information about the Water Department finances.

Budgets 1

This section of the site contains information about the Water Department Budget. Descriptions of various sections and actual budgets will be posted.