A genuinely local, entirely groundwater system
Unlike some of its South Shore neighbors, Marshfield doesn't buy finished water wholesale from anyone. The Marshfield DPW Water Division draws its entire supply from sixteen active gravel-packed wells across six aquifers within the town's own borders — most prominently the Furnace Brook and Little's Creek aquifers, consistent with the sand-and-gravel groundwater system this part of the South Shore is known for.
By the town's own combined testing, Marshfield's water is a clean, well-run system: 2023 testing for the state's combined PFAS6 standard came back at ND–13.0 parts per trillion, comfortably under Massachusetts' 20 ppt limit. But a narrower, compound-by-compound look tells a more complicated story — reporting on Water and Sewer Advisory Board-type data has found three of Marshfield's seven actively-tested wells testing above the newer, stricter federal 4 ppt individual PFOA limit, including a documented 4.85 ppt PFOA reading at the Furnace Brook #1A well in July 2024. Both things are true at once, and we think that nuance is worth keeping instead of flattening into one headline.
| Measure | Recent reading | Guideline |
|---|---|---|
| Combined PFAS6 (system-wide, 2023) | ND–13.0 ppt | 20 ppt (MA PFAS6 standard) — no violation |
| Furnace Brook #1A well (PFOA, individual) | 4.85 ppt (July 30, 2024) | 4 ppt (federal individual limit) |
| Wells reported above the federal PFOA limit | 3 of 7 actively-tested wells | 4 ppt (federal individual limit) |
Sources: Marshfield DPW Water Division Annual Water Quality Report 2023; Marin, Barrett & Murphy law firm PFAS page (citing town monitoring data); Duxbury Clipper, “PFAS problems still on tap.” See the full breakdown, including what we could and couldn't independently verify, on the Water data page.
