Editor's Note: This story, which is available online exclusively at bullworkofdemocracy, was originally published in the Sunday Middlesex News on April 21, 1996.
'Sudbury Reservoir Unfit to Drink: Greater Boston's emergency water supply plagued by pollution' Sunday Middlesex News, published April 21, 1996, By Christopher Cheney
The Sudbury Reservoir, Greater Boston's main backup water supply, is unfit for human consumption because of isolated "hot spots" of pollution, state officials warn.
If the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority water supply system were to fail due to a drought, earthquake or sabotage, the 7.5 million gallon reservoir would have to be activated.
But state environmental officials now studying the reservoir in Southborough and Marlborough say pollution in the water exceeds safe drinking water standards.
"If we needed to use that reservoir, a 'boil order' goes out from DEP," said Michael Mislin, manager of the Sudbury Reservoir for the state Metropolitan District Commission. "We know we have numerous sites that contain hazardous materials and those materials are leaching out."
A study soon to be released by the MWRA identifies several contamination problems that are compromising water quality in the reservoir.
According to Gretchen Roorbach, the project manager of the MWRA study, the biggest concern is that an ongoing buildup of algae will "kill" the reservoir by depleting oxygen in the water. She said two of the driving forces behind the algae growth are leaking septic systems and fertilizers being used on homeowners' lawns near the water.
Roorbach said the damage may be irreversible if the algae problem is not controlled. "Basically, it becomes a huge algae swamp," she said of the worst-case scenario.
Ten MetroWest communities use MWRA water services: Framingham, Waltham and Newton are totally reliant on the MWRA for drinking water and sewers. MWRA water is the main source of drinking water in Southborough and Weston. A limited number of neighborhoods in Marlborough, Northborough and Wellesley use MWRA drinking water. Ashland and Natick are on the MWRA's sewer system.
Another contamination issue raised in the upcoming MWRA report is the existence of hazardous waste "hot spots" that are polluting the reservoir, Misslin said.
The Middlesex News has learned hazardous waste leaching from contaminated properties along a half-mile stretch of Route 85 in Marlborough is polluting the reservoir.
A century of industrial pollution on Route 85, known locally as Maple Street, has left a legacy of petrochemical contamination.
The area was home to a number of different industries since the beginning of the 20th century, including a shoe factory, a coal gasification plant, and oil distribution facilities.
Over the past eight years, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has identified 10 confirmed or suspected hazardous waste sites stretching for a quarter mile north to south from 146 Maple St. down to 311 Maple St. A tributary of the Sudbury Reservoir, which is a half mile downstream, runs through the center of the contaminated area.
The affected area of Maple Street is about a half mile north of the Marlborough-Southborough border.
The contamination developed over so many years and is so widespread that officials say it may not be possible to determine who is responsible for the pollution. "It's pretty tough to figure out where the stuff came from," Misslin said.
The commission has documented spills of hazardous materials on Maple Street going back 90 years, he said. "Now what we're seeing is the gradual movement of these materials through the ground."
The Sudbury Reservoir study being conducted by the MWRA has identified the Maple Street hazardous waste sites as a significant source of contamination. "Maple Street jumps right out at you," Misslin said of the report's findings.
According to water officials, the Sudbury Reservoir would only be activated under emergency circumstances such as if an earthquake damaged the aqueducts carrying water from the massive, 412 billion gallon Quabbin Reservoir in central Massachusetts. "There is no immediate danger to anyone," MWRA spokesman David Gilmartin said of the Maple Street contamination.
Roorbach said a pond off Walker Street is functioning as a catch basin for the contamination flowing down from the Maple Street toxic waste sites. "That [pond] is a very serious source of contamination."
Testing of the Walker Street pond has revealed the presence of not only petrochemicals from oil and gasoline spills but also heavy metals such as lead, she said. "That is a real settling pond for contaminants and heavy metals."
Heavy metals such as lead are considered to be highly toxic if consumed by humans.
Roorbach said the reservoir has not been tested for heavy metals since 1978, when the presence of the materials was found to be "prominent" near the reservoir's dam. Drinking water would be pumped from the dam area if the reservoir was brought online.
Roorbach said it is unlikely heavy metals would get into drinking water if the reservoir was activated because they sink into the lake's sediment. "We of course worry about it; but, the way the Sudbury Reservoir is used, heavy metals would not be stirred up."
Misslin said the level of risk posed by heavy metals in the reservoir is an open question. "So far, we haven't found significant levels of metals," he said. "We haven't gone out actively looking for metals, either."
No comments:
Post a Comment