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Water Department
The Lincoln Water Department provides safe drinking water to
consumers by maintaining the Town's sources of water to the
highest degree possible. Water is also supplied for firefighting
and for use in other emergencies.
 NEW
Final
Report of Water Main Extensions
Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
77 Sandy Pond Road,
P.O. Box 6353,
Lincoln, MA 01773
781-259-8997
781-259-8997
Andrew Hall, III (Chairman), Dr. Andrew Cole,
Buckner M. Creel IV
Patrick
M. Allen, Superintendent
Heather
Clary, John Logan, Kevin Loughlin, Rick Parviaine
The Lincoln Water Department supplies water to its customers
in accordance with EPA and DEP regulations. This is done by
maintaining the Flint's Pond Watershed and the Tower Road
Well recharge area in order to provide water that meets local,
state and federal requirements. Maintenance of the pumping
facilities, treatment systems and distribution system allows
us to deliver safe drinking water to our customers as efficiently
as possible.
-
A New England organization that assists water departments
and others by supplying information and providing educational
opportunities. www.newwa.org
American
Water Works Association (AWWA) - Provides information
to the drinking water industry nationwide. www.awwa.org
U.S.
EPA, Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water
- The Environmental Protection Agency's web site, dedicated
to the issue of drinking water. www.epa.gov/ogwdw
Water
Information Program - Water saving tips with
a large selection of related links. An Excellent site!!
www.waterinfo.org/consrv.html
Water
Wiser - Water conservation tips and references.
www.waterwiser.org
"What
you should know about lead in your drinking water ...".
As required by D.E.P. this is a follow up for the Lead and Copper
rule which occurred in December, 1992.
Potential Threats to Lincoln's Water
Supply
The following text was used with permission the League
of Women Voters of Lincoln, from a May 1988 publication
Both water quality and quantity can be threatened. Contaminants
can enter Lincoln's water supplies through runoff into surface
water or infiltration through the soil into groundwater.
If contamination occurs, it is often irreversible and potentially
hazardous to health, and can have serious financial ramifications.
The Aquifer Protection Study Committee was appointed in
1987 by the Selectmen to recommend a course of safeguards
for Lincoln's aquifers. Under the Wetlands Protection Act,
the Conservation Commission is empowered to protect wetlands
from alteration or development. (Wetlands act both to purify
surface water and periodically recharge groundwater.
More than 300 residential home heating oil tanks and commercial
gasoline and oil storage tanks are scattered throughout
Lincoln. Normal corrosion, due to acidity of Massachusetts
soil, is the major cause of leaks in tanks and fuel lines.
A few gallons of oil or gasoline can contaminate millions
of gallons of drinking water.
All properties in Lincoln have septic systems or
cesspools except Lincoln Woods, which has a sewage treatment
plant. Many septic systems operate improperly because
of infrequent pumping and disposal of inappropriate materials
such as grease, garbage disposal waste, household chemicals,
and laundry materials.
The Commonwealth's bare pavement program on winter highways
has led to a high use of road salt (sodium chloride) and
consequent high levels of sodium in water near highways.
Lincoln has an acceptable level due to the low salt mixture
used (10:1 - sand:salt). The town's road salt is stored
in a partially covered shed with a cement slab floor.
It is not believed to be leaching into the groundwater.
Road salt substitutes and new pavement additives being
tested by the state may provide an environmentally safe
alternative for deicing highways.
Pesticides are potential contaminants due to the variability
of their behavior in soil and to possible improper application,
storage, and cleanup. Organic and inorganic fertilizers
can contaminate water supplies if they are applied in
excess. Pesticides and fertilizers are used by farms,
households (including owners, exterminators, lawn services),
and railroad and power companies (to control vegetation
near railroad tracks and power lines.)
Lincoln's water supplies could be contaminated by a spill
of oil, gasoline, or other hazardous material as it is
transported through town.
The Nike Site in Wayland, which is in the Sudbury River
Valley Watershed, is being monitored by the Army Corps
of Engineers. Lincoln's landfill and the hazardous waste
sites at Hanscom Air Force Base are not considered threatening
to Lincoln's drinking water, since they are not in the
watersheds for Lincoln water supplies.
Development creates impermeable surfaces such as parking
lots and roofs. Water is unable to percolate through these
structures to aquifers.
Water from Flint's Pond is not usable sometimes during
the summer algae bloom and the spring and fall turnovers.
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