Water Sources

Overview: 

While it is commonly assumed that Dedham’s drinking water is a uniform blend, the system is actually a complex distribution of three sources: the Neponset River Watershed, the Charles River Watershed, and the MWRA.

Research shows that water quality may be highly localized; the source dominating your tap depends largely on how close you live to a specific well field. However, the DWWD’s annual reports do not reflect this reality. By failing to use "weighted averages"—which would account for the fact that the Whitelodge well field produces double the volume of the Bridge Street field—the District provides an incomplete picture of what residents are actually consuming. We believe local officials should advocate for more granular, source-specific reporting to ensure true transparency for all residents.

Analogy:  

Imagine our town’s 3 water sources are the 3 equally portioned ingredients for a Margarita: Tequila, Orange Liqueur, and Lime Juice. Our town is a flat circle, with each ingredient placed evenly around the perimeter. If you tip all those ingredients toward the center, does every resident get a perfectly mixed drink?

Not exactly. Residents living near the "lime juice" source will taste more citrus, while those near the "tequila" will get a much stronger pour. While the State and the DWWD claim the "average" drink is a perfect blend for all, the reality on the ground is highly localized. Now, imagine the orange liqueur is tainted with herbicides. What if then the volume of that tainted liqueur is double the amount of tequila being pumped in, the "perfect blend" isn't just poorly mixed—there are even more localized elevated levels of contaminants.

This analogy demonstrates why the Dedham-Westwood Water District’s (DWWD) Water Quality Report must provide more granular data. Rather than simply "averaging" the disparate contaminant levels from the Charles and Neponset River sources, the report should disclose the specific levels for each. A simple "divide by two" calculation masks the reality for residents living near a dominant, contaminated source.