A long view of Great Island Pond facing south with the island in the center of the photograph.

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The Pinehills Water Supply

Do you know where your water comes from?

The Plymouth-Carver Sole Source Aquifer

Groundwater from the Plymouth/Carver Sole Source Aquifer is our sole source of drinking water.

The Plymouth-Carver Aquifer underlies approximately 140 square miles of land ranging from Kingston to the Cape Cod Canal and as far west as Middleborough.

In 1985, water use from the aquifer was estimated as approximately 60 million gallons per day of which 82% was used for cranberry production. The aquifer is recharged at an average rate of 161 million gallons per day, almost entirely from precipitation.

In 2006, The Pinehills Water Company (which does not include the golf course or common area irrigation) was permitted to withdraw .46 million gallons per day from the aquifer.

The Pinehills Water Supply Recharge Area

The recharge area around The Pinehills Water Supply is protected by a state designated "Zone II Wellhead Protection Area" which limits the activities that can occur within its boundaries.

What is a Zone II Wellhead Protection Area?

That area of an aquifer which contributes water to a well under the most severe pumping and recharge conditions that can be realistically anticipated (180 days of pumping at approved yield, with no recharge from precipitation).

In all cases, Zone II shall extend up gradient to its point of intersection with prevailing hydro geologic boundaries (a groundwater flow divide, a contact with till or bedrock, or a recharge boundary).

The key to understanding the water supply is that the groundwater flow under The Pinehills is to the north-east. The Pinehills Water Company wellheads are 1500 feet upstream of The Pinehills Waste Water Treatment Facility (WWTF) and 1/2 mile upstream of the (now closed) Manomet Landfill.

The image below shows the Zone II Wellhead Protection Area (The teardrop shape in the center of the map) surrounding The Pinehills Water Company wellheads and its location relative to The Pinehills Waste Water Treatment Facility and the Manomet Landfill.

Great Island is on the right-hand side of the map.
State Route 3 (Pilgrim Highway) cuts thru the Zone II.

Key
	The Town of Plymouth Manomet Landfill.
	The Pinehills Waste Water Treatment Facility.
	Pilgrim Highway, Exit 3


	OPINION

	How do you feel about locating a gas station at The Pinehills?

The Pinehills Water Storage Tank

A 2,000,000 gallon water storage tank is located in the higher elevations of the community and built partially into the hillside to limit its visibility from other areas of The Pinehills.

Assuming that 50 to 70 gallons of water is used per day, per person inside the average home in The Pinehills, the 2,000,000 gallon storage tank would provide about 3 days of inside water supply to the estimated 3000 Pinehills residents (2011), provided there was no irrigation or other outside water use.

The 700 gallon per minute booster pumping station located at the hillside site keeps the tank filled sufficiently to provide for all of the communities water needs.

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