The 2023 drinking water quality report for the town’s public water supply was just released, and it shows no actionable items, although sodium has risen to its highest level in at least 15 years. Levels for other substances, including PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) remained about the same as those reported in 2022. The water comes from the two wells on Pond Road and is used by the homes and businesses around town center, as well as by the schools and other municipal buildings.
The Department of Environmental Protection requires towns to test their public water supplies on a schedule that varies by substance. Some, such as PFAS, had been required quarterly but were recently changed to be on a yearly schedule. Many other substances, such as sodium, are only tested every three years.
This year’s sodium test revealed a level of about 67.75 milligrams per liter, up from 53.5 in 2020. The most recent test before that was in 2018, when the level was 30.2. The state has no maximum contaminant level for sodium in drinking water, but its Office of Research and Standards issues guidance values for substances with no maximum contaminant level. Its guideline for sodium is 20 milligrams per liter. Elevated levels of sodium in drinking water are generally safe, but they are a cause for concern for people with certain medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, or heart, kidney, or liver disease.
The higher than desired sodium levels in the town’s water likely comes from road salt runoff from Mass. Ave., Department of Public Works Director Tim Kilhart told the Press. The state is responsible for plowing and salting Mass. Ave., he said, and while the town has argued that the section of that road above the wells should not be salted, “The state will do what the state does.”
Kilhart said he hopes last fall’s repairs to the Bromfield parking lot will help the situation. He said prior to those repairs, the state pointed out that water from the school parking lot was draining onto Mass. Ave. and freezing there, requiring more salt in that area. Since the fix, the ice no longer accumulates in that spot, Kilhart said.
There were also three positive coliform tests in 2023. Kilhart said coliform tests must be performed on the raw water (before it runs through the chlorination system), and the water after it’s been chlorinated. The positive results were from the raw water tests.
Another number, total dissolved solids, was 550 parts per million, higher than the state’s secondary maximum contaminant level of 500 ppm. The state issues secondary maximum contaminant levels that are not enforceable for substances that affect the aesthetic properties of drinking water, such as taste, odor, or color. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection defines total dissolved solids as the “measure of all the organic and inorganic chemical compounds suspended in water.” The solids come from both runoff and leaching of underground deposits. The effects from these solids include water hardness, discoloration, staining, and salty taste.
Devens water connection bids due soon
Kilhart said elevated numbers for total dissolved solids can be related to chlorination, because it can precipitate some of those solids out of the water. He said he was expecting that number to be higher last year since the town began chlorinating its public water supply in June. “I was happy to see it [was] not higher,” he said.
PFAS test results remained about the same as they were a year ago. The results ranged from a low of 2.38 to 9.1 parts per trillion for the six compounds that the state regulates. The maximum contaminant level for those compounds is 20 parts per trillion.
At a Special Town Meeting in 2023, the town voted to connect to the Devens water system to be used as its public water supply instead of the two town wells, which have been testing positive for PFAS since 2020. Kilhart said the current plan is to keep the Pond Road wells as emergency backup. The water quality in those wells still must meet the state’s drinking water standards, so maintenance and testing will continue. He said he requested more money in his fiscal 2025 budget for the water system to pay for an outside consulting firm to test the water. Kilhart is the only DPW employee licensed to test chlorinated water, and as the director, he is prohibited from doing so. The requested water system budget for next year is $65,000.
The Devens water connection project has already gone out to bid. Bids on the pump station portion of the project are due back March 28, and bids on the water main portion are due April 11. The project is expected to begin early this summer, and Kilhart said it won’t be completed until sometime in 2025. Devens’ public water supply is chlorinated and treated for PFAS.
