Water Districts FAQs

This page will be updated frequently to ensure that our customers are kept abreast of public articles of interest. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Arsenic
An article published in the Worcester Telegram dated January 30, 2005 titled "Arsenic Belt" indicated seventy Massachusetts communities are targeted for a comprehensive geological study to map the so-called arsenic belt contributing to the contamination in private and public water supply.

The Boylston Water District contacted Northeast Geoscience Inc. to review this information. Our wells are in unconsolidated deposits of bedrock that typically do not have high arsenic levels. After reviewing the March 2003 data, no arsenic was detected in any of the production wells. The laboratory detection limit was 0.004 mg/1 and the new drinking water standard is 0.010mg/1. The Boylston Water District is at a very low risk in terms of arsenic.

Fluoride
Fluoridation of drinking water is a controversial topic. 122 of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts fluoridate their water at a concentration of 1p/pm. Studies Have Shown Fluoride to reduce tooth decay, and people who live in areas with Fluoride treatment are advised to give children Fluoride tablets.

A proposal to add fluoride to our water could be met with opposition from the community. Most people do not realize that chemicals are added to drinking water, and often fluoride addition is the first time they have had to consider the concept of chemical addition. The Boylston Water District only adds potassium hydroxide for corrosion purposes. Our customers have the highest quality of drinking water in the whole state of Massachusetts and we want to keep it that way.

• Delta Dental - Towns with flouridated water

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