The Town of Southborough posted the latest reports for power and water utilities.
Power Energy Mix
In 2018 the Town launched a Municipal Aggregation Plan (Southborough Community Power Choice) to provide for electricity to residents at a reduced cost. Unless you opted out, First Point Power is probably the “Supply Services” vendor on your National Grid account. The 2021 report is the required disclosure to residents on the utility’s power sources. For those who didn’t opt into the “Green Choice”, the report indicates the percentage of renewable energy certificates in the power mix, plus detail on air emissions.
You can view that here.
Water Report
The annual Consumer Confidence (Water Quality) Report reassures residents that our drinking water is safe.* An introduction states:
This report brings you the results of our annual water quality testing. While 2020 was a year filled with uncertainty, one thing remained constant: the quality of your drinking
water was excellent. MWRA takes hundreds of thousands of tests each year, and for 2020, we again met every federal and state drinking water standard. . .Our reservoirs have ample supplies to meet the demands of our service area. However, water is the most precious resource and we encourage everyone to save water wherever
possible. You can find tips on how to conserve water on our website at www.mwra.com. System-wide, we were again below the Lead Action Level. Lead continues to be a priority
for us and our member communities. To date, 11 communities have utilized over $17 million through our zero-interest loans to remove lead service lines. . .PFAS, or ‘forever chemicals’ have been in the news a lot lately. As expected, given our well-protected sources, our test results easily meet the newly issued Massachusetts
Department of Environmental Protection standards. No changes in our treatment are needed, and we continue to monitor this important issue.
The letter refers residents to details about lead in our town on the last page of the report. That includes the following details:
The DEP requires that Southborough sample the water from three locations with vinyl-lined asbestos cement pipe each year for PCE (tetrachloroethylene), one site for asbestos every 9 years and 15 sites once a year for the presence of lead and copper. Southborough does not have any lead water mains or water services. For more information about the potential presence of lead in tap water and steps that may be taken to reduce exposure, please go to mwra.com.
Click image below to view those testing results:
The report includes the news that MWRA won another water quality award. It also encourages customers to complain if they have issues:
COMPLAINTS ARE ESSENTIAL TOO!
MWRA takes customer concerns seriously. Every call is investigated. Most complaints are related to discolored water (usually related to local construction or hydrant use), or conditions in a building’s plumbing. If you have any questions or concerns, contact your local water department, or call MWRA at (617) 242-5323
To read more about the system protections, water monitoring, test results, and tips on reducing lead read the full report here.
*The majority of town properties receive their water through the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. This obviously doesn’t relate to the section of town that is using well water.
