Drinking water in eastern area of Mass. passed state and federal PFAS standards

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's source water met every federal and state drinking water standard in 2022, including current and proposed PFAS standards, the independent authority said Tuesday.

In addition to posting it online, the MWRA is mailing its annual water quality report for 2022 this month to more than 850,000 households in its service area.

MWRA Executive Director Fred Laskey said, "Because our source water is so well protected, our water meets the current state, and recently proposed federal, [PFAS] standards with levels so low they cannot be quantified. We have great confidence in the water we deliver to the homes and businesses in our service area, and we want our customers to have that same confidence."

An authority official said lead continues to be an important topic. Systemwide, the authority continues to be below lead action levels, although many homes in the MWRA service area still have lead service lines or plumbing fixtures that contain lead. Many MWRA communities have lead service line replacement programs, and the authority itself has distributed $34 million in interest-free loans to 14 communities for lead service line removals since 2016.

The MWRA supplies wholesale water services to 53 eastern Massachusetts communities, and the Quabbin and Wachusett watersheds and reservoirs are its primary water sources. The two reservoirs combined supply an average of 200 million gallons per day to consumers.