MassDEP Drinking Water Program

Massachusetts water loss

281 systems, 1,913 filed years. Measured against MassDEP's published standards of 10% unaccounted-for water and 65 gallons per capita per day.

Median loss, FY2024
12.0%
Half of Massachusetts's systems are above this. The 90th percentile is 27.0%.
Over the standard every year
68
See the list.
Too unstable to act on
67
See the list.

Above the standard every year on record

68 systems over 10% in every filed year — a standing condition, not one bad year.

SystemLatestYears over
Hinsdale69.0%6 of 6
Cheshire58.0%6 of 6
Winchendon58.0%6 of 6
Barre45.0%6 of 6
Grafton Water District42.0%6 of 6
Shrewsbury38.0%6 of 6
Westborough38.0%6 of 6
Rockport Water Treatment Plant37.0%6 of 6
Bernardston Fire & Water District35.0%6 of 6
Ashburnham34.0%6 of 6
Fall River34.0%6 of 6
North Brookfield34.0%6 of 6
Palmer33.0%5 of 5
Gloucester DPW - Water Supply31.0%6 of 6
Salem DPW31.0%6 of 6
Brockton DPW29.0%5 of 5
Lynn Water & Sewer Commission29.0%6 of 6
Beverly28.0%6 of 6
Canton28.0%6 of 6
Elm Hill Water District28.0%6 of 6
Topsfield28.0%6 of 6
Rutland27.0%5 of 5
Holliston26.0%6 of 6
Medford26.0%5 of 5
Milton26.0%6 of 6
Webster DPW26.0%6 of 6
Westfield26.0%5 of 5
Paxton25.0%6 of 6
Provincetown25.0%6 of 6
Fitchburg24.0%6 of 6
North Reading24.0%6 of 6
Waltham24.0%6 of 6
Weymouth Department Of24.0%6 of 6
Littleton23.0%6 of 6
Shirley Water District23.0%6 of 6
Holyoke22.0%6 of 6
Malden DPW22.0%5 of 5
Melrose22.0%6 of 6
Quincy22.0%6 of 6
Rowley22.0%6 of 6
Swampscott22.0%6 of 6
Watertown21.0%6 of 6
Saugus20.0%6 of 6
South Grafton Water District20.0%6 of 6
Turners Falls Fire District20.0%6 of 6
Dudley19.0%6 of 6
Nahant19.0%6 of 6
Shelburne Falls Fire District19.0%6 of 6
Somerset19.0%6 of 6
Southborough DPW19.0%6 of 6
Aquarion Water Company: Hingham18.0%6 of 6
Dedham Westwood Water District17.0%6 of 6
Essex DPW17.0%6 of 6
Marshfield17.0%6 of 6
Newton17.0%6 of 6
Springfield17.0%6 of 6
Winthrop Water Division17.0%5 of 5
Milford Water Company16.0%6 of 6
Uxbridge16.0%6 of 6
Braintree15.0%6 of 6
Lynnfield Water Dist.15.0%6 of 6
Arlington14.0%6 of 6
Easthampton13.0%6 of 6
Andover12.0%6 of 6
East Northfield Water Company12.0%6 of 6
Greenfield12.0%6 of 6
Russell12.0%6 of 6
Lexington11.0%4 of 4

Reported figures too unstable to act on

67 systems whose figure moves more than three quarters of Massachusetts's do. Real losses do not change that fast, so these describe measurement rather than water. The more useful of the two lists: a chronically high system knows it has a problem, an unstable one usually believes its own number.

SystemLatestSwingAvg/yr
Onset Fire District13.0%10→57% FY202026.8 pts
Russell12.0%56→12% FY202420 pts
Hinsdale69.0%17→56% FY202218.2 pts
Peabody27.0%4→39% FY202016.2 pts
Tewksbury DPW21.0%22→0% FY202215.6 pts
East Brookfield28.0%7→28% FY202415.5 pts
Warren Water District29.0%34→8% FY202214.4 pts
Brockton DPW29.0%50→29% FY202414.3 pts
Palmer33.0%52→20% FY202214 pts
Wayland2.0%37→2% FY202413 pts
Winchendon58.0%32→58% FY202412.8 pts
Sterling25.0%1→25% FY202112.6 pts
Lowell Water Treatment Facility7.0%6→26% FY202312 pts
Blackstone2.0%34→4% FY202311.6 pts
Barre45.0%14→36% FY202011 pts
East Northfield Water Company12.0%47→29% FY202011 pts
Dudley19.0%30→14% FY202010.6 pts
Hopedale12.0%30→12% FY20249.8 pts
Weston11.0%16→2% FY20209.8 pts
Billerica8.0%28→10% FY20219.6 pts
Huntington0%*22→0% FY20249.5 pts
Dartmouth13.0%2→18% FY20229.4 pts
Cheshire58.0%18→43% FY20229.2 pts
Freetown Water Commission1.0%40→15% FY20219.2 pts
Southborough DPW19.0%19→37% FY20239.2 pts
Lee46.0%10→28% FY20229 pts
Rockport Water Treatment Plant37.0%12→28% FY20239 pts
Upton Department Of21.0%12→29% FY20239 pts
Adams Fire District0%*34→15% FY20208.8 pts
Grafton Water District42.0%32→21% FY20208.8 pts
Merrimac32.0%9→32% FY20248.8 pts
Hopkinton18.0%27→3% FY20228.6 pts
Housatonic Water Works Company7.0%35→7% FY20218.5 pts
Hatfield23.0%9→23% FY20248.4 pts
Lincoln26.0%8→26% FY20218.4 pts
Thorndike Fire & Water District9.0%37→9% FY20208.4 pts
Aquarion Water Company: Oxford21.0%19→4% FY20228.2 pts
Foxborough1.0%34→15% FY20228.2 pts
Manchester21.0%31→9% FY20228.2 pts
Mansfield17.0%23→6% FY20228.2 pts
Newburyport11.0%1→14% FY20208 pts
Westminister7.0%24→7% FY20248 pts
Bernardston Fire & Water District35.0%37→54% FY20227.8 pts
Gloucester DPW - Water Supply31.0%28→13% FY20207.8 pts
Salisbury Water Company24.0%4→24% FY20247.8 pts
Wrentham DPW24.0%20→3% FY20217.8 pts
Aquarion Water Company: Millbury14.0%23→6% FY20227.6 pts
Fall River34.0%35→17% FY20237.6 pts
Athol7.0%28→13% FY20207.4 pts
Greenfield12.0%27→11% FY20237.4 pts
Dover Water Company Inc18.0%3→18% FY20247.2 pts
East Chelmsford Water District18.0%4→18% FY20207.2 pts
Lynnfield Water Dist.15.0%11→30% FY20217.2 pts
Saugus20.0%24→12% FY20217.2 pts
Templeton6.0%3→16% FY20237.2 pts
Medfield23.0%10→20% FY20207 pts
North Reading24.0%17→37% FY20237 pts
Falmouth12.0%19→8% FY20216.8 pts
Nahant19.0%24→36% FY20216.6 pts
Westborough38.0%26→38% FY20246.6 pts
Williamstown11.0%22→9% FY20226.6 pts
Bedford16.0%16→4% FY20206.4 pts
Williamsburg4.0%8→17% FY20226.4 pts
Bridgewater7.0%2→14% FY20206.2 pts
Georgetown4.0%19→4% FY20246.2 pts
Somerville16.0%5→16% FY20226.2 pts
Wenham15.0%24→11% FY20216.2 pts

Every Massachusetts system

Source: MassDEP Drinking Water Program, as filed by each utility. States differ in what they publish, so these pages differ in what they can show: MassDEP publishes these two figures as percentages rather than volumes, so no dollar amount is derivable and no component balance can be checked — the comparisons here are to the rest of the state and to the system's own record. Report a correction.