Dover Residents Demand Answers, Solution to Persistent Water Problem (Updated 8/8/21)

In late June and again these last few days, numerous Dover residents have been complaining of brown, green, yellow or otherwise discolored water from their water supplier, Colonial Water Company (Colonial Water). 

The reports have come from the areas of Draper Road, Riga Road, Woodridge Road, Church Street, Tower Drive, Saddle Ridge Road, Colonial Road, Centre Street and Tubwreck Estates. Many residents have expressed frustration at a problem that some say is a recurring one.

Between June 23 to June 27th this year, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) received 29 complaints of discolored water from Colonial Water's customers in Dover. The complaints were collected with the help of the Town of Dover’s online alert system encouraging resident reporting to the state agency.

MassDEP Findings: Slightly Discolored Water but Company's Corrective Action Plan Deficient

Upon making a June 24th site visit, MassDEP found acceptable levels of pH and chlorine in the water system.  MassDEP's water samples from two residences on Bretton Road and Draper Road had “slight discoloration,” the agency informed Donald Vaughn, owner of Colonial Water, in a letter.  (Mr. Vaughn appears to receive his mail in Plainville, Connecticut.)

MassDEP also found a significant increase in water demand from early May into June.  At that time, system demand increased from 100,000 gallons per day (gpd) to over 200,000 gpd. 

On July 6, 2021, following MassDEP's site visit two weeks earlier, the company sent customers a letter noting that,“The water meets all prescribed Mass DEP requirements for safety." 

The company went on to note that possible causes for the discolored water could be related to high water demand from lawn irrigation, or elevated iron and manganese levels. However, it also added that, “Historically, testing has shown that iron and manganese are not present in excessive levels in the source/well water.” 

Colonial Water's letter stated that while it was looking into a treatment to reduce discoloration issues, “At this point, there are no simple or immediate solutions that can be implemented. Resolution may take several weeks.”

Image by cocoparisienne from Pixabay

Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection found Colonial Water's corrective action plan (CAP) to be technically deficient. In a July 23, 2001 letter to the company, MassDEP noted that although Colonial Water's testing showed no violations of primary drinking water regulatory standards, there was an increase in the secondary contaminant, manganese. 

MassDEP gave Colonial Water a deadline of July 30, 2021 to perform a number of actions. The company was ordered to revise its CAP.  It must submit a written report of corrective actions during 2021.  It must hire an independent, third party to inspect its Francis Street and Draper Road wells.  Well cleaning, maintenance or rehabilitation could be causing the increased manganese levels. 

MassDEP also ordered the company to hire a third party registered professional engineer with drinking water treatment and operations experience.  The engineer should perform a comprehensive assessment of Colonial Water operations, maintenance and management practices to find the cause of the discoloration.  The engineer should also recommend corrective actions.

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On its MassDEP imposed deadline of July 30, 2021, Colonial Water stated in a letter to customers that its discolored water coincided with “significant seasonal irrigation flows and a recent increase in manganese levels” at its Francis Street well. It assured customers that manganese is an aesthetic concern. 

Colonial Water also noted it is taking short-term mitigation measures of using hydrant bleeders, flushing hydrants, making submersible camera inspections, and testing for iron and manganese more frequently. Colonial Water stated that hiring an independent consulting engineer to evaluate the system would be a long-term measure. In the meantime, the company has requested that residents limit lawn irrigation as much as possible.

While the discolored water may be safe to drink, many residents are not taking the risk without some mitigation measures of their own. Many of them have installed or are planning to install a whole house or under-the-sink filter.  Some are investigating putting reverse osmosis systems in their homes. 

Along with avoiding water for drinking, Dover residents find themselves inconvenienced by not being able to use water for expected household purposes.  They wonder whether doing laundry will mean clothing gets stained. One resident has admitted to taking her laundry to her mother's home to avoid the risk of staining in her own home. Some residents report frequently having to bleach stained toilets. Another resident wondered if he was showering in the Charles River.

Will Colonial Water's Joint Application for Merger Affect Potential Service Quality Improvements for its Dover Customers?

Currently, in a proceeding before the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU), Colonial Water has jointly filed a petition with Aquarion Company (Aquarian), Aquarion Water Company of Massachusetts, New England Service Company (NESC), and Mountain Water Systems, Inc. (Mountain Water) to ask DPU to approve a set of mergers.  

The Joint Petitioners propose merger of NESC with Aquarion.  They also propose the merger of Colonial Water with Mountain Water into Aquarian Water Company of Massachusetts (AWC-MA).

In their Initial Filing to the DPU, the Joint Petitioners state that they are not proposing any rate changes or changes to terms of service for Mountain Water or Colonial Water as a condition of the transaction.

Page 4 of their petition states,“Upon the merger of Mountain and Colonial with and into AWC-MA, the current customers of Mountain and Colonial will become AWC-MA customers with no changes to their tariff rates or services planned or contemplated as a condition of the Transaction.”

It appears that if DPU accepts the Joint Petitioner’s proposal to keep rates the same, then any acknowledgement in rates of inadequate or unsatisfactory service to Dover customers may be off the table. For example, would no change in existing rates preclude the idea of a discount, refund or credit? Customers have complained that they are paying for brown water.

It is also unclear how adopting the Joint Petitioners' proposal, that there be "no changes" to “services planned,” might impact a professional engineer's recommendations regarding Colonial’s physical plant or facilities.  If new plant or services must be installed or implemented to resolve discolored water issues, would these changes be prevented by DPU's approval of a merger with no changes to services? 

The Joint Petitioners are requesting that DPU approve the merger no later than November 1, 2021.

Community Invited to August 19th Meeting with Selectmen and MassDEP

MassDEP will be attending a remote meeting of the Dover Board of Selectmen this month on August 19th to update the community and discuss its corrective action plan for Colonial Water.  The Town of Dover's website states that information to join the remote meeting will be made available during the week of August 9th at this link: https://ma-dover.civicplus.com/calendar.aspx?CID=14

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Updated 08/08/21.  A typo, "lows" has been corrected to "flows," in the quote taken from Colonial Water's July 30, 2021 letter.

For more reporting on this issue, click here.