Missed the “Acton’s Water Cycle” Forum? Catch Up Here (inc. event video)

by Norm Strahle and Kim Kastens

The June 8, 2022 forum, hosted by the Green Acton Water Committee, covered the topic of “Acton’s Water Cycle,” beginning with where Acton’s drinking water comes from and culminating with what happens when it goes down the drain. The format included poll questions for the forum attendees and a robust Q&A session.

The presenters and their topics, in order of appearance, were:

• Matthew Mostoller, Acton Water District (AWD) Assistant District Manager: Where does Acton’s tap water come from?
• Erika Amir-Lin, AWD Commissioner: How does water recharge the aquifer?
• Kim Kastens, Chair, Green Acton Water Committee: How much precipitation has Acton gotten historically?
• Andrea Becerra, Acton Sustainability Director: What do climate forecasts say about future precipitation?
• Lucy Kirshner, Green Acton Water Committee: How much water do people in Acton use, and what do they use it for?
• Alexandra Wahlstrom, AWD Environmental Analyst: How can households conserve water, and why might they want to?
• Michael Geis, Acton Water Resource Advisory Committee: After water goes down the drain, what happens to it?

The forum included poll question designed to challenge and engage the audience with each new topic before the presentation on that topic. The poll questions do not appear in the video, but can be seen here. Links to the video, links, and sources of additional information are below:

• Video recording of Acton’s Water Cycle forum (June 8, 2022)
• Slides from all presenters
• Poll questions
• Inspirational quotes about water (displayed while gathering)

Additional credits:

All of the presenters invested time and thought in the creation of the materials and presentations, and in coordination with each other in order to create a coherent and educational event. In addition, we thank the following people, who worked behind the scenes during and in advance of the event: Alissa Nicol (publicity), Debra Simes (graphics), Carolyn Kiely (Q&A), Jim Snyder-Grant (technical support), Holly Chayes (polls), and Linda Strahle (Powerpoint). Norm Strahle was responsible for overall coordination and leadership of the event, assisted by Lucy Kirshner and Kim Kastens.

Previous forums:

The Green Acton Water Committee has organized three previous educational forums on local water issues, each with documentation on this website. They were:

• PFAS in drinking water (October 14, 2020)
• Report card on the state of the SuAsCo watershed (January 22, 2020)
• 1,4-dioxane in drinking water (October 25, 2018)

To continue the discussion:

Four organizations provided speakers and insights to pull together this event. All four offer opportunities for people who live in Acton or have other strong ties here to get involved in further discussions. The Acton Water District (AWD) is a municipal entity, separate from Acton Town government and overseen by a three-person elected Board of Water Commissioners. The commissioners meet twice a month, in open meeting, usually on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month; see schedule here. In addition, the AWD holds its Annual Meeting, analogous to Town Meeting, in the spring of each year. Acton’s Sustainability Office is a staff department of the Town of Acton; it oversees sustainability initiatives and holds numerous public input events. Over the coming year, this office will be working on the update to Acton’s Hazard Mitigation Plan, which covers droughts and floods, as well as helping to launch the Town’s Climate Action Plan. Acton’s Water Resources Advisory Committee is a volunteer board of Acton residents that studies water-related issues and advises the Select Board; its open meetings are held once or twice a month, with agendas posted here. Finally, Green Acton is a local, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works on myriad environmental issues (Water, Energy, Land Use, Materials, Toxics/Pesticides, Plastics, et al.). Green Acton’s Water Committee meets monthly, usually on the 2nd Sunday of the month. To be notified of upcoming Water Committee meetings and other watery developments, please email: water-contact@greenacton.org.

References and sources of further information:

On Acton’s sources of water (Matt Mostoller):

• Map of AWD well fields and groundwater protection zones
• Amount of water pumped by AWD per month and per year, since 2005
• AWD Master Plan 2018 Update (map of distribution system is Fig. 2-2)

On precipitation (Kim Kastens):

• Map of surface waters of Acton, from OARS map of the SuAsCo watershed
• Map of annual mean precipitation of continental U.S., from National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Climate Data Guide
• Graph of 100 years of precipitation in Massachusetts, from National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS)

On climate change forecast (Andrea Becerra):

• Town of Acton Sustainability website
• Summary of Findings, Acton Community Resilience Building Workshop (includes posters on Climate Change in Acton and the SuAsCo watershed, and Acton Social Vulnerability: Who is most at risk from climate change impacts?)

On household water use (Lucy Kirshner):

• Gallons per day per capita average water usage for Acton household (see Fig. 3-7)
• Water Research Foundation Residential End Uses of Water: Executive Report

On water conservation and efficiency (Alexandra Wahlstrom):

• Current map of Massachusetts drought status
• AWD water saving resources landing page
• AWD rebate program and application
• AWD WaterSmart program
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WaterSense program
• Efficiency increase (1999–2016) in water use by household appliances (see Fig. 5)

On wastewater (Michael Geis):

• W. Robertson, “Septic System Impacts on Groundwater Quality,” The Groundwater Project, a registered charity in Canada, administered at the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, 2021. ISBN: 978-1-77470-004-4
• D. Appling, M. Y. Habteselassie, D. Radcliffe, J. K. Bradshaw, “Preliminary Study on the Effect of Wastewater Storage in Septic Tank on E. coli Concentration in Summer,” Water 2013, 5, 1141–1151; doi:10.3390/w5031141
• A.A. Adegoke, T.-A. Stenstrom, “Management of Risk from Excreta and Wastewater Septic Systems,” Global Water Pathogen Project, Part Four, Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI, UNESCO, 2019
• P. Lombardo, “Phosphorus Geochemistry in Septic Tanks, Soil Absorption Systems, and Groundwater,” 2006.
• Pio Lombardo of Lombardo Associates on the Comprehensive Water Resource Management Plan (CWRMP); see Wastewater Advisory Neighborhood Taskforce (WANT) meeting February 16, 2010
• A. English, “Sewer-Septic Costs and Approaches to Cost Reduction,” Acton Town report to WANT
• T. Gibb, Working, Managing waste: Household septic systems – Part 1, Michigan State University Extension, 2012
• T. Gibb, Pumping, Managing waste: Household septic systems – Part 2, Michigan State University Extension, 2012
• T. Gibb, Maintenance, Managing waste: Household septic systems – Part 3, Michigan State University Extension, 2012
• K. Mancl and J.A. Moore, Septic System Maintenance, 2001