On May 27, 2026, Public Works staff shared a presentation at the MSFI Committee meeting regarding routine testing and the detection of trace chemicals in one of the City’s groundwater sources. The City supplies about 2 million gallons of drinking water every day from three separate sources. These sources include reservoirs in the town of Roxbury, a Court Street well field, and a West Street well field. During recent testing, an extremely small amount of a common agricultural fungicide was found at a single location: Production Well 3 off Court Street. As a precaution, this specific well is not being used, and the City is expanding its testing program beyond what state and federal agencies require.
It is important to understand just how incredibly small this measurement was. The chemical was detected at 0.2 parts per billion, while the health safety limit is 360 parts per billion. To put that into perspective, finding 0.2 parts per billion is like finding less than half a single teaspoon of liquid inside an entire Olympic-sized swimming pool. Because this amount is more than 1,000 times lower than the level that would pose a health risk, it poses no risk to the public. We want to make it abundantly clear to all residents that the City’s water supply was safe and remains safe.
- Is our tap water safe to drink right now? Yes. The water currently flowing to homes and businesses is consistently tested and meets state and federal safety and quality standards.
- If the detection levels were so low, why did the municipality turn the well off? Our priority is delivering the highest quality water possible, not just meeting minimum passing grades. While the detected levels were far below the state and federal limits for required action, turning off Production Well 3 off Court Street allows us to investigate the source out of an abundance of caution. We have the operational capacity to meet the community’s water needs using our other sources while this well remains offline.
- Can I still use the water for cooking, bathing, washing dishes, and giving to my pets? Yes. You can use your water exactly as you normally do. There are no restrictions on drinking, cooking, bathing, or using the water for pets and agriculture.
- Are vulnerable groups (infants, pregnant women, the elderly) at any elevated risk? No. Because the levels detected were far below the safety thresholds, there is no elevated risk.
- What exact chemicals were detected? We detected trace amounts of Iprodione, which is commonly used in agriculture as a broad-spectrum fungicide.
- How much was found compared to the allowable limits? The detected levels were 0.2 parts per billion (ppb). That equates to less than half a teaspoon of water in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The US EPA’s Chronic (lifetime) Human Health Benchmark concentration for Iprodione is 360 parts per billion. Our results were 0.06% of this human health benchmark.
- How did these chemicals get into the groundwater in the first place? These compounds may result from use in nearby golf course management or agricultural applications and can travel through soil and groundwater from various sources over time. We are looking into possible origins, and that process will take time and further testing.
- Will turning off this well cause water shortages, watering bans, or pressure drops? No. Our water system is designed with redundancy. The remaining active wells and treatment plant have more than enough capacity to meet the community’s daily water demands and maintain standard water pressure.
- How often is our municipal water tested, and why are we just finding this out now? Each year, we run hundreds of tests on the City’s water supply, both at the origin and at various locations throughout the distribution system. We also test a network of groundwater monitoring wells around each production well. We test for a wide range of parameters both in-house and with contracted laboratories. Tests conducted vary from year to year and may not test for the same chemicals every year. We are expanding testing now and have requested additional funding for the upcoming budget year to increase testing frequency.
- What is the plan for treating the water or eventually reopening the well? The well will remain offline while we complete our source investigation and evaluate long-term options.
