Water Quality and Supply

Is my water safe to drink?

North Chelmsford Water District meets or exceeds all governmental standards for drinking water.

What is Cross-Connection Control?

A cross-connection program is required to prevent drinking water contamination from unapproved sources. A crossconnection is formed at any point where a drinking water line connects to equipment, (boilers), systems containing chemicals (air conditioning systems, fire sprinkler systems, irrigation systems) or water sources of questionable quality. Contamination can occur when the pressure in the equipment or system is greater than the pressure inside the drinking water line (backpressure). Contamination can also occur when the pressure in the drinking line drops due to fairly routine occurrences, (main breaks, heavy water demand) causing contaminants to be sucked out from the equipment into the drinking water line, (backsiphonage). The purpose of the program is to prevent backsiphoning of non-potable water into the public drinking water distribution system. The installation of backflow prevention devices is recommended for all inside and outside hose connections. You can purchase devices at a hardware or plumbing supply store. Cross-connection and backflow information is available at the Water District. A cross-connection survey on Municipal and Commercial accounts is done at least once a year.

Is the Water hard or soft?

It is neither hard nor soft. Hardness in drinking water is usually caused by the presence of calcium and magnesium ions. When present in substantial amounts, the water is said to be "hard" because making soap lather is hard (difficult). Cleaning with hard water, that is, water that contains more than 150 milligrams per liter of hardness is difficult. Our water contains between 34 and 93 milligrams per liter of hardness.

What causes my water to occasionally have a brown or black color?

Naturally occurring iron and manganese in the water build up on the insides of the pipes and sloughs off from time to time. When we flush water mains, high concentrations of these minerals are removed from the pipes and the water is very dark. If fire hydrants are opened, this too can stir up sediment in the system. Usually, if you let your water run, it will clear up. If discoloration persists, however, call us and we will make recommendations or make an appointment to check it out.

Sometimes my water looks cloudy. Is this harmful?

No. Cloudiness in drinking water is caused by tiny air bubbles in the water similar to the gas bubbles in carbonated soft drinks. After a while, the bubbles rise to the top and are gone.

How is our water treated?

We add Potassium Hydroxide (KOH - a strong base) at the four wells to raise the pH (6.8-8.5) for corrosion control. Acid rain contributes to an acidic water supply which can create corrosion problems with water mains and domestic plumbing and can cause lead (from solder) to become a problem. The pH is constantly monitored and KOH added accordingly. We also add sodium hypochlorite, (NaOCl),a chlorinated/water solution) at two wells, as a disinfectant, at residual levels between 0.25 to 0.35 milligrams per liter. We do not add fluoride to the water supply.

How does the NCWD protect our water supply?

The North Chelmsford Water District protects the water supply by using Chlorine for a Disinfectant, security systems at all wells and towers, and fences and barb wire. We also use booms, oil absorbers in catch basins and the stream that flows towards the well field. We try to involve the public through awareness and education and stay on top of Zoning Regulations and make sure that enforcement actions are followed through by the Board of Health, the Zoning Enforcement Agent, the local Police, Local and State agencies, through the Court System by taking legal action, etc. The ultimate protection and the best available treatment technique we can provide is the proposed Ultra-Membrane Filtration system that we are trying to get approved and built to protect the Water supply for many years to come. Also, we have emergency connections with the City of Lowell and the Chelmsford Water District.

Are we connected to other Municipal Water Supplies?

Yes,we have two emergency connections with the Chelmsford Water District and two emergency connections with the City of Lowell.

Where does our water come from?

The North Chelmsford Water District's Water Supply consists of four gravel packed wells that are presently treated with Potassium Hydroxide for pH adjustment and Sodium Hypochlorite for disinfection.

Where are the Water Towers?

The North Chelmsford Water Districts water storage consists of two stand pipes, a 1.8 million gallon water tank located at the end of Washington Street that was built in 1969 and completely rehabilitated in 2003, and a 1.4 million gallon water tank located on Swain Road that was built in 1996. Both water storage tanks are inspected every five years by certified underwater diving specialists.

Proposed Water Treatment Facility FAQ

How will the proposed water treatment facility work?

The pumped water from each well will enter an aeration tower removing the CO2 and some contaminants. This will reduce the chemical usage by naturally raising the pH of the water. Next, the water will be chlorinated and run through a series of membrane filters, removing organic and in-organic contaminants, so that our water will meet or exceed all the regulations that we must meet under the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Lastly, the water will be pumped to a clearwell and the finished water will be pumped throughout the distribution system and into storage tanks.

What is the proposed schedule?

The Water Treatment Plant would be built and ready to be put into the distribution system within eighteen months from the time the contract is awarded.

How much will it cost?

The proposed cost is 7.8 million dollars and will be paid through bonding over a thirty year period at a fixed cost to each single family home of sixty dollars every six months or $3,600.00 dollars over the life of the loan. See NCW Rules and Regs for more information.

What will it look like?

The building would be a single story metal building that would be built to accommodate all the water treatment equipment for 1.8 million gallons per day and allow the capacity to increase to 2.3 million gallons per day to meet our future projected needs.

Will it make noise, add light to the area or increase traffic?

The building is designed to meet the requirements of a residential neighborhood: noise would be low decibel as required, and it would have sensor-controlled lights pointing to the ground for illumination. The traffic would not increase; it would remain the same as what presently enters and exits the property now. The chemical deliveries could be as often as five times a month during the summer and less during the rest of the year. Deliveries are scheduled during normal working hours with a trained certified employee from the North Chelmsford Water District present. The employees of the Water District would be monitoring the facility 24/7/365 as we do now at our existing facilities. The building would be entirely fenced in, and have all types of safety-equipment, i.e. intrusion alarms that would go to automatic dialers and a manned answering service, and chemical and pH monitoring. It will have a natural buffer of trees and shrubs to shield the building from abutters.

What are some other possible approaches?

• Buy water from Lowell.

  We did a cost analysis and the cost would be much higher and not the choice of the Water Takers of the North Chelmsford District. Lowell would remain an emergency back-up only, with a two-way system that would allow Lowell to receive water from us in case of their emergency situation.

• Consolidate with other Chelmsford Water Districts.

  This has been looked into many times and has no advantage to the North Chelmsford Water District. Even if consolidation was undertaken through a legislated process, the water treatment plant still would be required to be built. Also, an extensive Capital Expense would have to be undertaken because of the hydraulics of the different distribution systems and the difference in water quality that would require different water treatment processes. The Water Districts do have emergency inter-connections that will stay in place for mutual aid.