Water Quality

The water in our water system is tested continuously for many parameters. The annual water quality report has a summary of components for which the water is tested.

The sources of water are classified as ground water supplies since we use well fields to obtain our water supply. The WWC also owns and manages five reservoirs which we use to recharge the ground water as we withdraw water for production purposes. As the surface water passes through the earth, nature removes the undesirable components and the water is purified. We recently constructed state of the art treatment facilities for our wellfields which uses pressure filtration to further purify these sources.

The water is treated at each wellfield with chlorine and potassium hydroxide. The chlorine is added as a requirement of the State and as a precautionary measure to disinfect the water system piping to ensure the safety of our water.  Potassium hydroxide is added to raise the pH of the water so the water will be less corrosive. Groundwater in New England is typically acidic with a pH in the mid 5’s. We adjust the pH to make it slightly above neutral  (7.0) on the pH scale. Polyaluminum chloride and phosphate are also added at the treatment facility in Sutton to help the filters remove all particulate matter and provide additional corrosion protection.  The reason we take measures to reduce the naturally corrosive nature of water is to reduce the number of leaks in metal piping in the street as well as your residence and to reduce the potential levels of lead and copper.

Please review the Annual Water Quality report below (a.k.a. Consumer Confidence Report) for more information on the routine testing of the water supply.