Article submitted to the DPW newsletter for immediate publication

Sarah Little

Wellesley Pesticide Awareness Coordinator

July 20, 2001

Edited by Judy Curby, July 23, 2001

Safe, pure drinking water is one of our most basic needs, yet it is one that we often take for granted. Safe and pure water is free from microbiological pathogens and hazardous chemicals. About ninety percent of Wellesley’s drinking water comes from groundwater sources within Wellesley (the other 10% comes from Massachusetts Water Resources Authority). Providing safe and pure drinking water requires protecting groundwater from contamination in the first place, and secondly, treatment of water to remove or neutralize contaminants and pathogens if they are found. Source protection is low tech and cheap relative to the cost of treatment, so it makes good economic as well as health sense to protect groundwater from contaminants.

One of the current potential sources of groundwater contamination is from the pesticides residents and businesses apply to their lawns and properties. Pesticides can get into groundwater, particularly in high-use areas such as dense suburban towns like Wellesley. Over the past two decades, according to the United States Geological Survey, pesticides or their transformation products have been detected in ground waters of more than 43 states, including many parts of Massachusetts. Although there is currently no evidence of pesticides in Wellesley’s drinking water, use of pesticides puts the Town’s entire drinking water supply at risk and makes more difficult the DPW’s job of ensuring safe drinking water.

So far, the quality of Wellesley’s drinking water has been excellent. The DPW monitors the quality of water from its wells and ensures that it is within State and Federal Safe Drinking Water guidelines. If contamination were to be found, immediate action would be taken to either remove it or convert to a new drinking water source. Neither of these options would be cheap or easy.

Given the importance of source protection, and the vulnerability of our drinking water with so many people living above it, let’s not jeopardize our water supply for the sake of eliminating a few dandelions. So what can you do with your lawn? To learn about alternatives to pesticides, visit www.ci.wellesley.ma.us/nrc/pesticide or call the Natural Resources Commission at 781 431-1019 x294.

The Wellesley Pesticide Awareness Campaign is cosponsoring, with the Wellesley Cancer Prevention Project and Newton-Wellesley Hospital, a forum on Thursday, October 11, 2001 entitled "In Our Own Backyard: Cancer and the Environment, Where are We Now?" The forum will be held at the Wellesley Middle School at 7:30 pm.