TEN YEARS OF SOURCE WATER PROTECTION FOR MASSACHUSETTS LARGEST PUBLIC DRINKING WATER SUPPLY

Since colonization of Massachusetts in the 17th century, inhabitants of the Greater Boston area have searched westward for safe drinking water supplies to meet the needs of a growing population and to ensure source water protection. The largest public drinking water system in Massachusetts is managed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) and the Metropolitan District Commission's Division of Watershed Management (MDC)1. Since 1989, MWRA/MDC have developed and implemented one of the nation's leading watershed protection programs for this public drinking water supply system. A major focus of the program is protection of public health from pathogen contamination and the maintenance of high quality source water. MDC's program is documented in its State-approved Watershed Protection Plans, originally completed in 1991, and recently updated in 1998 and 2000. These Plans detail MDC's various watershed management measures. Future challenges to source water protection activities for the MWRA/MDC system include continued public pressure to open water supply lands and water to ever-increasing recreational interests.