The Town of Sharon relies solely on local groundwater aquifers for its drinking water, which means that we are dependent on rainfall and snowmelt.
We do not get our drinking water from the Massachusetts Resources Water Authority (MWRA), Lake Massapoag, or any additional outside resources.
The land around our groundwater wells is mainly forested and residential, with lesser amounts zoned as commercial.
Our drinking water supply is
Our groundwater is highly susceptible to contamination from:
- residential land uses – including overuse of lawn fertilizers, poorly maintained septic systems, and pet waste
- accidental spills from local roadways
- Route 95 and the railroad
- hazardous materials storage
- existing contamination sites
- agricultural activities
How the System Works
The system currently serves about 17,500 customers or approximately 98% of the Town.
The Town maintains four water storage tanks with a total volume of 3 million gallons.
The Town’s water delivery system includes about 120 miles of pipe. Some of the pipes are unlined, small diameter cast iron water mains that are over 100 years old.
The Town obtains its water supply from four gravel pack wells: Wells 3, 4, 5, and 6, and two well fields: Wells 2 and 7.
Each production well is comprised of a well point or series of well points, and motors that drive pumps. Some pump stations have auxiliary power, others do not.
The combined MassDEP approved pumping rate of the groundwater supplies from all the sources is 3.12 million gallons per day (mgd).
Well stations and water tanks are monitored via the SCADA System (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), which controls well pumping and water levels at each of the storage tanks.
All wells are treated with sodium hypochlorite for disinfection, sodium fluoride for dental protection, and potassium hydroxide for pH adjustment/corrosion control.
