(NECN: Jennifer Eagan) - The shoreline of the Quabbin Reservoir spans 181 miles making it seemingly impossible to constantly police. But its vastness – what appears to be the Quabbin’s vulnerability – is actually its biggest defense.
"You would have to put railroad cars full of bad stuff into the reservoir for it to be noticeable downstream," said Paul Levy, a former Executive Director of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. "The Quabbin Reservoir is over 400 billion gallons, the Wachusett Reservoir is another 65 billion gallons. Even if someone was able to put something in that reservoir it would be so dilute that it wouldn’t make any difference."
And Levy says time is also on the side of authorities if something got into the water supply. It takes five years for a raindrop that falls on the Quabbin to make it to the facet of one of the two million homes throughout Boston and the surrounding area that the reservoir serves.
"There are monitoring stations along the way. There are also cleansing stations along the way to clean the water, chlorination as well as other things. So, it would be detected soon. And if you had to shut down the aqueduct you could," Levy said.
That step was taken after a massive water main break in Weston in May of 2010. Back ups, like the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, were tapped. Still, it is good to be watchful.
"This isn’t to say you shouldn’t be diligent and monitor what goes on around those reservoirs, but if someone did slip through and try to do something bad and if they actually did something bad it would be detected," Levy said.
As for other drinking water supplies, Levy says they too are monitored constantly. Many towns also use well water. The MWRA said in a statement today that they test daily for biological and chemical properties in the water. Tests yesterday after the alleged trespassing incident came back normal. The Massachusetts State Police have stepped up patrols around the Quabbin and other water sources in the Commonwealth.
