Falmouth Water Department

Falmouth Water Department Municipal Water Report Information

The town's primary mission is providing safe, potable municipal water through careful management of existing water sources and through diligent maintenance of the distribution infrastructure.

Long Pond Water Treatment Plant Update (01/18/19)
The Long Pond facility draws water from Long Pond, removes algae, applies ozone treatment, filters through activated carbon, and disinfects with sodium hypochlorite. Now in its second operational year, this plant produces 25% of the system's water. Disinfection occurs at 0.9 mg/l hypochlorite rate, maintaining system-wide residual chlorine levels between 0.4-0.7 mg/l.

Hydrant Maintenance Program (10/28/18)
Reference the "Hydrants flushed 5-23-18" map to view all hydrant locations. Highlighted markers indicate hydrants flushed since 2016, with reflective markers identifying completed maintenance. Over 50% of the town's 3,000 hydrants have been serviced. Painting efforts during 2018 focused on main roadways including Gifford Street, Blacksmith Shop Road, West Falmouth Highway, and several others.

Water Quality - Lead and Copper Testing (10/28/18)
Following our testing protocol, 61 residential homes are being examined for lead and copper this fall, with results expected in November. Spring testing identified 3 homes exceeding lead action levels, with notifications sent to those property owners. Lead contamination stems not from source water but from older home plumbing that may leach when water remains stagnant for extended periods.

Water Supply - 2017 Annual Statistics
Total water distribution for 2017 reached 1,634 million gallons from multiple sources. Long Pond, a protected surface water supply, provided 52% of total water. The Crooked Pond Water Filtration Plant, treating water from both Crooked Pond Well and Coonamessett Wells, supplied 25%. New Pond Well was decommissioned early in the year after detecting perchlorate at 2.2ppb (above the 2.0ppb limit), having contributed approximately 4.2%. Mares Pond Well provided 6.6%, while the Town purchased approximately 12% from Upper Cape Regional Water Co-operation wells located on Mass Military Reservation.

Water Treatment (06/15/18)
All water sources undergo disinfection with sodium hypochlorite and pH adjustment with sodium hydroxide, maintaining an average system pH of approximately 8.0. Water reaches residences through our distribution network comprising 370 miles of water mains, 4 storage tanks, and approximately 22,000 service connections.