Mansfield Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

The Mansfield Water Division serves the Town of Mansfield in Bristol County, Massachusetts, providing public drinking water from nine gravel-packed wells and one wellfield in the Ten Mile River and Taunton River Basins. Key production wells include Dustin Well #7 (800 gpm), Prescott Well #8 (700 gpm), and Prescott Well #9 (500 gpm), located in East Mansfield off East Street. These feed a treatment facility addressing iron and manganese removal. Cate Springs Well and Walsh Well were deactivated due to PFAS detections pending treatment upgrades, with grant funding secured.

Mansfield's water sources lie within the Ten Mile River and Taunton River watersheds, part of the larger Southeastern Massachusetts groundwater province. The geology features unconsolidated glacial sand and gravel aquifers from Pleistocene outwash, overlying metamorphic bedrock from the Carboniferous Narragansett Basin and older Avalonian terrane. This setting yields very soft water, as the aquifer's low mineral content stems from limited limestone exposure and the dominance of inert glacial sediments, producing minimally mineralised groundwater.

As very soft water, Mansfield's supply causes no scale buildup in pipes, fixtures, or appliances, reducing maintenance needs for water heaters, dishwashers, and washing machines. Soap lathers easily without excess detergent and no spotting occurs on glassware. A water softener is not recommended, as it could over-mineralise already soft water and potentially cause corrosion; focus instead on filtration for taste and contaminants. The 2020 and 2021 Consumer Confidence Reports confirm compliance with federal and state drinking water standards; PFAS was proactively addressed by decommissioning the affected Cate Springs and Walsh wells.