- Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Media Contact
Danielle Burney, Deputy Communications Director
BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today awarded $850,000 in grant funding to protect and conserve drinking water supplies in Massachusetts. The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ (EEA) Drinking Water Supply Protection grant program will support the Acton Water District and the Town of Dartmouth in acquiring land to safeguard drinking water and protect public health within their communities.
“Conservation is critical to ensuring safe drinking water is accessible to all residents,” said EEA Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “By investing in these projects, we’re giving communities ownership of land that supplies their source drinking water. We’re proud to help these recipients protect their water supplies and provide high-quality, reliable, clean drinking water.”
Since 2004, the program has funded municipal and public water systems and fire districts’ acquisition of land in fee or a conservation restriction for water protection. The properties will become protected open spaces under Article 97 of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, dedicated to water supply protection and land conservation. In selecting proposals, EEA chooses projects that contribute to water supply protection, including the protection of existing or future wells and reservoirs, as well as protecting land that contributes to groundwater recharge. Conserving these lands has many additional benefits as well, such as supporting passive outdoor recreation.
“I am grateful to the Healey-Driscoll administration and the Executive Office of Environmental and Energy Affairs for a $500,000 drinking water supply protection grant to the Acton Water District, to purchase 57 acres of land to better protect Acton residents' drinking water,” said State Senator Jamie Eldridge (D-Marlborough). “The Acton Water District does an incredible job of not only ensuring that water is safe to drink and use, but also acts in an environmentally sustainable manner, and this grant reflects the state's continued recognition of the district's vision and leadership.”
“This grant for a land purchase by the Acton Water District will support the Town’s ongoing efforts to increase water supply and quality, while helping to preserve historically significant land along the routes taken by the Acton Minutemen,” said State Representative Simon Cataldo (D-Concord). “I’m grateful for the EEA’s investments and partnership as we advance environmental and cultural priorities in the 14th Middlesex District.”
The DWSP grant awardees are:
- Acton Water District – 549 Main Street Project: $500,000 to purchase 57 acres to place bedrock wells to diversify Acton’s water supply, increasing resiliency and drought preparedness and improving water quality. The property also preserves an important segment of the Isaac Davis Trail -- the original route taken by Acton Minutemen marching to the Old North Bridge in 1775 at the start of the American Revolutionary War, as well as rare species habitat and potential vernal pools.
- Town of Dartmouth – Paskamansett River Drinking Water Protection Project: $350,000 grant award to preserve a 196-acre property that will protect a critical public drinking water supply aquifer and remove an existing gap in the growing assemblage of protected land along the river. This project will increase the protection of lands in the Paskemansett River Valley, a key source of Dartmouth’s public drinking water. The project will also safeguard public access for passive recreation opportunities and benefit critical wildlife habitat for Rare Species and the downstream estuary.
For more information regarding the Drinking Water Supply Protection Grant Program, please visit the program’s webpages.
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