GREENFIELD — The town’s water treatment facilities and its employees were the recipients of two awards this month, receiving special recognition from Gov. Charlie Baker’s office as well as a 2016 Public Water System Award from the state Department of Environmental Protection Drinking Water Program.
Both awards lauded actions on the part of the town and the Department of Public Works to preserve a parcel of land containing a stream that feeds the Leyden Glen, a critical water source for Greenfield. The land’s owner, Mal Cichy, offered the acreage to the town at a reasonable price, which was then approved by Town Council last month.
Given the tight budgets of many towns in the state, the DPW seized the opportunity to preserve and protect this parcel from new home development with resultant septic systems and lawn chemicals, thereby saving the tract from future pollution, according to a news release from the town.
“This is just one small but very important piece of the puzzle when it comes to protecting the town’s water supply,” Mark Holley, supervisor of Greenfield Water Facilities, said in the release. “Our thanks to the Town Council for recognizing the importance of protecting this vital water source.”
DPW Director Don Ouellete added, “Because this land is now legally protected from development, we can more easily safeguard our water source from contamination, rather than treat it after the fact.”
Mayor William Martin commended the water treatment staff for their attention to external variables that might impact the internal operations of water qualify, saying that using its own laboratory for testing water samples from the Greenfield Public Schools for copper or lead concentrations, the town has found no results exceeded the limits.