It’s National Drinking Water Week and MWRA customers have a good reason to celebrate: our tap water quality is excellent, year in and year out.

Here’s why our drinking water is among the best in the country.

We aggressively protect our water sources
MWRA’s water comes from the Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs in Central Massachusetts. These naturally pristine water sources are surrounded by miles of protected land. MWRA and the Department of Conservation and Recreation constantly patrol the watersheds to make sure they stay safe.

We use the safest and most effective treatment processes available today
At our Carroll Treatment Plant in Marlborough, water is treated with ozone gas, a natural, renewable disinfectant that “zaps” germs out of the water and leaves fewer disinfection byproducts (DPBs) than other treatment methods. Since MWRA started using ozone in 2005, DPB levels have dropped to an all-time low. We are adding facilities to treat drinking water with ultraviolet light, expected to be complete in 2014.

We protect the treated water, too
Once the water is treated, it goes to covered storage facilities across the MWRA service area. Covered storage protects water from being contaminated by airborne sources (such as birds) and keeps a back-up supply of treated water on hand near each community.

We test the water at every step on the way to your tap
MWRA and its member communities perform hundreds of thousands of tests on drinking water from the source to the tap. Testing covers over 120 compounds regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency and many other compounds that are not yet regulated.

We share all of our test results with our customers
Water test results are posted on our website monthly and annually. We also mail an annual report on drinking water test results to each household within our service area every year. Keep your eyes out for our latest Annual Water Quality Report, due out to homes in June, 2010.

Check out our website for more information on our water system. MWRA has great confidence in the water we deliver to your home and wants you to have the same confidence.

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