Massachusetts Natural Gas Providers, by Town, as of 2015.View data in an online map.
Massachusetts Electricity Providers, by Town, as of 2015.View data in an online map.
ODC Public Domain Dedication and Licence (PDDL) v1.0http://www.opendatacommons.org/licenses/pddl/1.0/
License information was derived automatically
City of Cambridge, MA, GIS basemap development project encompasses the land area of City of Cambridge with a 200-foot fringe surrounding the area and Charles River shoreline towards Boston. The basemap data was developed at 1" = 40' mapping scale using digital photogrammetric techniques. Planimetric features; both man-made and natural features like vegetation, rivers have been depicted. These features are important to all GIS/mapping applications and publication. A set of data layers such as Buildings, Roads, Rivers, Utility structures, 1 ft interval contours are developed and represented in the geodatabase. The features are labeled and coded in order to represent specific feature class for thematic representation and topology between the features is maintained for an accurate representation at the 1:40 mapping scale for both publication and analysis. The basemap data has been developed using procedures designed to produce data to the National Standard for Spatial Data Accuracy (NSSDA) and is intended for use at 1" = 40 ' mapping scale. Where applicable, the vertical datum is NAVD1988.Explore all our data on the Cambridge GIS Data Dictionary.Attributes NameType DetailsDescription ELEV type: Doublewidth: 8precision: 38 Elevation of top of street light above sea level
TYPE type: Stringwidth: 50precision: 0
March 2025
Terms of UseData Limitations and DisclaimerThe user’s use of and/or reliance on the information contained in the Document shall be at the user’s own risk and expense. MassDEP disclaims any responsibility for any loss or harm that may result to the user of this data or to any other person due to the user’s use of the Document.This is an ongoing data development project. Attempts have been made to contact all PWS systems, but not all have responded with information on their service area. MassDEP will continue to collect and verify this information. Some PWS service areas included in this datalayer have not been verified by the PWS or the municipality involved, but since many of those areas are based on information published online by the municipality, the PWS, or in a publicly available report, they are included in the estimated PWS service area datalayer.Please note: All PWS service area delineations are estimates for broad planning purposes and should only be used as a guide. The data is not appropriate for site-specific or parcel-specific analysis. Not all properties within a PWS service area are necessarily served by the system, and some properties outside the mapped service areas could be served by the PWS – please contact the relevant PWS. Not all service areas have been confirmed by the systems.Please use the following citation to reference these data:MassDEP, Water Utility Resilience Program. 2025. Community and Non-Transient Non-Community Public Water System Service Area (PubV2025_3).IMPORTANT NOTICE: This MassDEP Estimated Water Service datalayer may not be complete, may contain errors, omissions, and other inaccuracies and the data are subject to change. This version is published through MassGIS. We want to learn about the data uses. If you use this dataset, please notify staff in the Water Utility Resilience Program (WURP@mass.gov).This GIS datalayer represents approximate service areas for Public Water Systems (PWS) in Massachusetts. In 2017, as part of its “Enhancing Resilience and Emergency Preparedness of Water Utilities through Improved Mapping” (Critical Infrastructure Mapping Project ), the MassDEP Water Utility Resilience Program (WURP) began to uniformly map drinking water service areas throughout Massachusetts using information collected from various sources. Along with confirming existing public water system (PWS) service area information, the project collected and verified estimated service area delineations for PWSs not previously delineated and will continue to update the information contained in the datalayers. As of the date of publication, WURP has delineated Community (COM) and Non-Transient Non-Community (NTNC) service areas. Transient non-community (TNCs) are not part of this mapping project.Layers and Tables:The MassDEP Estimated Public Water System Service Area data comprises two polygon feature classes and a supporting table. Some data fields are populated from the MassDEP Drinking Water Program’s Water Quality Testing System (WQTS) and Annual Statistical Reports (ASR).The Community Water Service Areas feature class (PWS_WATER_SERVICE_AREA_COMM_POLY) includes polygon features that represent the approximate service areas for PWS classified as Community systems.The NTNC Water Service Areas feature class (PWS_WATER_SERVICE_AREA_NTNC_POLY) includes polygon features that represent the approximate service areas for PWS classified as Non-Transient Non-Community systems.The Unlocated Sites List table (PWS_WATER_SERVICE_AREA_USL) contains a list of known, unmapped active Community and NTNC PWS services areas at the time of publication.ProductionData UniversePublic Water Systems in Massachusetts are permitted and regulated through the MassDEP Drinking Water Program. The WURP has mapped service areas for all active and inactive municipal and non-municipal Community PWSs in MassDEP’s Water Quality Testing Database (WQTS). Community PWS refers to a public water system that serves at least 15 service connections used by year-round residents or regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents.All active and inactive NTNC PWS were also mapped using information contained in WQTS. An NTNC or Non-transient Non-community Water System refers to a public water system that is not a community water system and that has at least 15 service connections or regularly serves at least 25 of the same persons or more approximately four or more hours per day, four or more days per week, more than six months or 180 days per year, such as a workplace providing water to its employees.These data may include declassified PWSs. Staff will work to rectify the status/water services to properties previously served by declassified PWSs and remove or incorporate these service areas as needed.Maps of service areas for these systems were collected from various online and MassDEP sources to create service areas digitally in GIS. Every PWS is assigned a unique PWSID by MassDEP that incorporates the municipal ID of the municipality it serves (or the largest municipality it serves if it serves multiple municipalities). Some municipalities contain more than one PWS, but each PWS has a unique PWSID. The Estimated PWS Service Area datalayer, therefore, contains polygons with a unique PWSID for each PWS service area.A service area for a community PWS may serve all of one municipality (e.g. Watertown Water Department), multiple municipalities (e.g. Abington-Rockland Joint Water Works), all or portions of two or more municipalities (e.g. Provincetown Water Dept which serves all of Provincetown and a portion of Truro), or a portion of a municipality (e.g. Hyannis Water System, which is one of four PWSs in the town of Barnstable).Some service areas have not been mapped but their general location is represented by a small circle which serves as a placeholder. The location of these circles are estimates based on the general location of the source wells or the general estimated location of the service area - these do not represent the actual service area.Service areas were mapped initially from 2017 to 2022 and reflect varying years for which service is implemented for that service area boundary. WURP maintains the dataset quarterly with annual data updates; however, the dataset may not include all current active PWSs. A list of unmapped PWS systems is included in the USL table PWS_WATER_SERVICE_AREA_USL available for download with the dataset. Some PWSs that are not mapped may have come online after this iteration of the mapping project; these will be reconciled and mapped during the next phase of the WURP project. PWS IDs that represent regional or joint boards with (e.g. Tri Town Water Board, Randolph/Holbrook Water Board, Upper Cape Regional Water Cooperative) will not be mapped because their individual municipal service areas are included in this datalayer.PWSs that do not have corresponding sources, may be part of consecutive systems, may have been incorporated into another PWSs, reclassified as a different type of PWS, or otherwise taken offline. PWSs that have been incorporated, reclassified, or taken offline will be reconciled during the next data update.Methodologies and Data SourcesSeveral methodologies were used to create service area boundaries using various sources, including data received from the systems in response to requests for information from the MassDEP WURP project, information on file at MassDEP, and service area maps found online at municipal and PWS websites. When provided with water line data rather than generalized areas, 300-foot buffers were created around the water lines to denote service areas and then edited to incorporate generalizations. Some municipalities submitted parcel data or address information to be used in delineating service areas.Verification ProcessSmall-scale PDF file maps with roads and other infrastructure were sent to every PWS for corrections or verifications. For small systems, such as a condominium complex or residential school, the relevant parcels were often used as the basis for the delineated service area. In towns where 97% or more of their population is served by the PWS and no other service area delineation was available, the town boundary was used as the service area boundary. Some towns responded to the request for information or verification of service areas by stating that the town boundary should be used since all or nearly all of the municipality is served by the PWS.Sources of information for estimated drinking water service areasThe following information was used to develop estimated drinking water service areas:EOEEA Water Assets Project (2005) water lines (these were buffered to create service areas)Horsely Witten Report 2008Municipal Master Plans, Open Space Plans, Facilities Plans, Water Supply System Webpages, reports and online interactive mapsGIS data received from PWSDetailed infrastructure mapping completed through the MassDEP WURP Critical Infrastructure InitiativeIn the absence of other service area information, for municipalities served by a town-wide water system serving at least 97% of the population, the municipality’s boundary was used. Determinations of which municipalities are 97% or more served by the PWS were made based on the Percent Water Service Map created in 2018 by MassDEP based on various sources of information including but not limited to:The Winter population served submitted by the PWS in the ASR submittalThe number of services from WQTS as a percent of developed parcelsTaken directly from a Master Plan, Water Department Website, Open Space Plan, etc. found onlineCalculated using information from the town on the population servedMassDEP staff estimateHorsely Witten Report 2008Calculation based on Water System Areas Mapped through MassDEP WURP Critical Infrastructure Initiative, 2017-2022Information found in publicly available PWS planning documents submitted to MassDEP or as part of infrastructure planningMaintenanceThe
Map showing the modeled temperature at 5 km depth based on measurements of density and thermal conductivity, calculations of heat production and estimates of heat flow.
Map showing inferred heat flow obtained from heat production estimates and linear relationship between heat production and heat flow
Terms of UseData Limitations and DisclaimerThe user’s use of and/or reliance on the information contained in the Document shall be at the user’s own risk and expense. MassDEP disclaims any responsibility for any loss or harm that may result to the user of this data or to any other person due to the user’s use of the Document.This is an ongoing data development project. Attempts have been made to contact all PWS systems, but not all have responded with information on their service area. MassDEP will continue to collect and verify this information. Some PWS service areas included in this datalayer have not been verified by the PWS or the municipality involved, but since many of those areas are based on information published online by the municipality, the PWS, or in a publicly available report, they are included in the estimated PWS service area datalayer.Please note: All PWS service area delineations are estimates for broad planning purposes and should only be used as a guide. The data is not appropriate for site-specific or parcel-specific analysis. Not all properties within a PWS service area are necessarily served by the system, and some properties outside the mapped service areas could be served by the PWS – please contact the relevant PWS. Not all service areas have been confirmed by the systems.Please use the following citation to reference these data:MassDEP, Water Utility Resilience Program. 2025. Community and Non-Transient Non-Community Public Water System Service Area (PubV2025_3).IMPORTANT NOTICE: This MassDEP Estimated Water Service datalayer may not be complete, may contain errors, omissions, and other inaccuracies and the data are subject to change. This version is published through MassGIS. We want to learn about the data uses. If you use this dataset, please notify staff in the Water Utility Resilience Program (WURP@mass.gov).
This GIS datalayer represents approximate service areas for Public Water Systems (PWS) in Massachusetts. In 2017, as part of its “Enhancing Resilience and Emergency Preparedness of Water Utilities through Improved Mapping” (Critical Infrastructure Mapping Project ), the MassDEP Water Utility Resilience Program (WURP) began to uniformly map drinking water service areas throughout Massachusetts using information collected from various sources. Along with confirming existing public water system (PWS) service area information, the project collected and verified estimated service area delineations for PWSs not previously delineated and will continue to update the information contained in the datalayers. As of the date of publication, WURP has delineated Community (COM) and Non-Transient Non-Community (NTNC) service areas. Transient non-community (TNCs) are not part of this mapping project.
Layers and Tables:
The MassDEP Estimated Public Water System Service Area data comprises two polygon feature classes and a supporting table. Some data fields are populated from the MassDEP Drinking Water Program’s Water Quality Testing System (WQTS) and Annual Statistical Reports (ASR).
The Community Water Service Areas feature class (PWS_WATER_SERVICE_AREA_COMM_POLY) includes polygon features that represent the approximate service areas for PWS classified as Community systems.The NTNC Water Service Areas feature class (PWS_WATER_SERVICE_AREA_NTNC_POLY) includes polygon features that represent the approximate service areas for PWS classified as Non-Transient Non-Community systems.The Unlocated Sites List table (PWS_WATER_SERVICE_AREA_USL) contains a list of known, unmapped active Community and NTNC PWS services areas at the time of publication.
Production
Data Universe
Public Water Systems in Massachusetts are permitted and regulated through the MassDEP Drinking Water Program. The WURP has mapped service areas for all active and inactive municipal and non-municipal Community PWSs in MassDEP’s Water Quality Testing Database (WQTS). Community PWS refers to a public water system that serves at least 15 service connections used by year-round residents or regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents.
All active and inactive NTNC PWS were also mapped using information contained in WQTS. An NTNC or Non-transient Non-community Water System refers to a public water system that is not a community water system and that has at least 15 service connections or regularly serves at least 25 of the same persons or more approximately four or more hours per day, four or more days per week, more than six months or 180 days per year, such as a workplace providing water to its employees.
These data may include declassified PWSs. Staff will work to rectify the status/water services to properties previously served by declassified PWSs and remove or incorporate these service areas as needed.
Maps of service areas for these systems were collected from various online and MassDEP sources to create service areas digitally in GIS. Every PWS is assigned a unique PWSID by MassDEP that incorporates the municipal ID of the municipality it serves (or the largest municipality it serves if it serves multiple municipalities). Some municipalities contain more than one PWS, but each PWS has a unique PWSID. The Estimated PWS Service Area datalayer, therefore, contains polygons with a unique PWSID for each PWS service area.
A service area for a community PWS may serve all of one municipality (e.g. Watertown Water Department), multiple municipalities (e.g. Abington-Rockland Joint Water Works), all or portions of two or more municipalities (e.g. Provincetown Water Dept which serves all of Provincetown and a portion of Truro), or a portion of a municipality (e.g. Hyannis Water System, which is one of four PWSs in the town of Barnstable).
Some service areas have not been mapped but their general location is represented by a small circle which serves as a placeholder. The location of these circles are estimates based on the general location of the source wells or the general estimated location of the service area - these do not represent the actual service area.
Service areas were mapped initially from 2017 to 2022 and reflect varying years for which service is implemented for that service area boundary. WURP maintains the dataset quarterly with annual data updates; however, the dataset may not include all current active PWSs. A list of unmapped PWS systems is included in the USL table PWS_WATER_SERVICE_AREA_USL available for download with the dataset. Some PWSs that are not mapped may have come online after this iteration of the mapping project; these will be reconciled and mapped during the next phase of the WURP project. PWS IDs that represent regional or joint boards with (e.g. Tri Town Water Board, Randolph/Holbrook Water Board, Upper Cape Regional Water Cooperative) will not be mapped because their individual municipal service areas are included in this datalayer.
Some PWSs that are not mapped may have come online after this iteration of the mapping project; these will be reconciled and mapped during the next phase of the WURP project. Those highlighted (e.g. Tri Town Water Board, Randolph/Holbrook Water Board, Upper Cape Regional Water Cooperative) represent regional or joint boards that will not be mapped, because their individual municipal service areas are included in this datalayer.
PWSs that do not have corresponding sources, may be part of consecutive systems, may have been incorporated into another PWSs, reclassified as a different type of PWS, or otherwise taken offline. PWSs that have been incorporated, reclassified, or taken offline will be reconciled during the next data update.
Methodologies and Data Sources
Several methodologies were used to create service area boundaries using various sources, including data received from the systems in response to requests for information from the MassDEP WURP project, information on file at MassDEP, and service area maps found online at municipal and PWS websites. When provided with water line data rather than generalized areas, 300-foot buffers were created around the water lines to denote service areas and then edited to incorporate generalizations. Some municipalities submitted parcel data or address information to be used in delineating service areas.
Verification Process
Small-scale PDF file maps with roads and other infrastructure were sent to every PWS for corrections or verifications. For small systems, such as a condominium complex or residential school, the relevant parcels were often used as the basis for the delineated service area. In towns where 97% or more of their population is served by the PWS and no other service area delineation was available, the town boundary was used as the service area boundary. Some towns responded to the request for information or verification of service areas by stating that the town boundary should be used since all or nearly all of the municipality is served by the PWS.
Sources of information for estimated drinking water service areas
The following information was used to develop estimated drinking water service areas:
EOEEA Water Assets Project (2005) water lines (these were buffered to create service areas)Horsely Witten Report 2008Municipal Master Plans, Open Space Plans, Facilities Plans, Water Supply System Webpages, reports and online interactive mapsGIS data received from PWSDetailed infrastructure mapping completed through the MassDEP WURP Critical Infrastructure InitiativeIn the absence of other service area information, for municipalities served by a town-wide water system serving at least 97% of the population, the municipality’s boundary was used. Determinations of which municipalities are 97% or more served by the PWS were made based on the Percent Water Service Map created in 2018 by MassDEP based on various sources of information including but not limited to:The Winter population served submitted by the PWS in the ASR submittalThe number of services from WQTS as a percent of
The map represents power outages for four power companies in Massachusetts. Data is provided by utilities every 15 - 30 minutes. Published by MEMA. Download data.
This is a metadata compilation for maps published by Massachusetts Geological Survey as Miscellaneous Map Series M-13-01 through M-13-08 for the Massachusetts Geothermal Energy Project in 2013. The maps inlcude thermal conductivity of bedrock and soil, heat production, inferred heat flow, and temperatures at 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-Km depths.The metadata compilation is published as an Excel workbook containing header features including title, description, author, citation, originator, distributor, and resource URL links to scanned maps (PDFs) for download. The Excel workbook contains contains six worksheets, including information about the template, notes related to revisions of the template, resource provider information, the data, a field list (data mapping view), and vocabularies (data valid terms) used to populate the data worksheet . The metadata was provided by the Massachusetts Geological Survey and made available for distribution through the National Geothermal Data System.
Map showing estimated heat production of rock samples obtained from analysis of U, Th and K content
Yearly effective energy and mass transfer (EEMT) (MJ m−2 yr−1) was calculated for the Catalina Mountains by summing the 12 monthly values. Effective energy and mass flux varies seasonally, especially in the desert southwestern United States where contemporary climate includes a bimodal precipitation distribution that concentrates in winter (rain or snow depending on elevation) and summer monsoon periods. This seasonality of EEMT flux into the upper soil surface can be estimated by calculating EEMT on a monthly basis as constrained by solar radiation (Rs), temperature (T), precipitation (PPT), and the vapor pressure deficit (VPD): EEMT = f(Rs,T,PPT,VPD). Here we used a multiple linear regression model to calculate the monthly EEMT that accounts for VPD, PPT, and locally modified T across the terrain surface. These EEMT calculations were made using data from the PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University (www.prismclimate.org). Climate data are provided at an 800-m spatial resolution for input precipitation and minimum and maximum temperature normals and at a 4000-m spatial resolution for dew-point temperature (Daly et al., 2002). The PRISM climate data, however, do not account for localized variation in EEMT that results from smaller spatial scale changes in slope and aspect as occurs within catchments. To address this issue, these data were then combined with 10-m digital elevation maps to compute the effects of local slope and aspect on incoming solar radiation and hence locally modified temperature (Yang et al., 2007). Monthly average dew-point temperatures were computed using 10 yr of monthly data (2000–2009) and converted to vapor pressure. Precipitation, temperature, and dew-point data were resampled on a 10-m grid using spline interpolation. Monthly solar radiation data (direct and diffuse) were computed using ArcGIS Solar Analyst extension (ESRI, Redlands, CA) and 10-m elevation data (USGS National Elevation Dataset [NED] 1/3 Arc-Second downloaded from the National Map Seamless Server at seamless.usgs.gov). Locally modified temperature was used to compute the saturated vapor pressure, and the local VPD was estimated as the difference between the saturated and actual vapor pressures. The regression model was derived using the ISOHYS climate data set comprised of approximately 30-yr average monthly means for more than 300 weather stations spanning all latitudes and longitudes (IAEA).
Terms of UseData Limitations and DisclaimerThe user’s use of and/or reliance on the information contained in the Document shall be at the user’s own risk and expense. MassDEP disclaims any responsibility for any loss or harm that may result to the user of this data or to any other person due to the user’s use of the Document.This is an ongoing data development project. Attempts have been made to contact all PWS systems, but not all have responded with information on their service area. MassDEP will continue to collect and verify this information. Some PWS service areas included in this datalayer have not been verified by the PWS or the municipality involved, but since many of those areas are based on information published online by the municipality, the PWS, or in a publicly available report, they are included in the estimated PWS service area datalayer.Please note: All PWS service area delineations are estimates for broad planning purposes and should only be used as a guide. The data is not appropriate for site-specific or parcel-specific analysis. Not all properties within a PWS service area are necessarily served by the system, and some properties outside the mapped service areas could be served by the PWS – please contact the relevant PWS. Not all service areas have been confirmed by the systems.Please use the following citation to reference these data:MassDEP, Water Utility Resilience Program. 2025. Community and Non-Transient Non-Community Public Water System Service Area (PubV2025_3).IMPORTANT NOTICE: This MassDEP Estimated Water Service datalayer may not be complete, may contain errors, omissions, and other inaccuracies and the data are subject to change. This version is published through MassGIS. We want to learn about the data uses. If you use this dataset, please notify staff in the Water Utility Resilience Program (WURP@mass.gov).This GIS datalayer represents approximate service areas for Public Water Systems (PWS) in Massachusetts. In 2017, as part of its “Enhancing Resilience and Emergency Preparedness of Water Utilities through Improved Mapping” (Critical Infrastructure Mapping Project ), the MassDEP Water Utility Resilience Program (WURP) began to uniformly map drinking water service areas throughout Massachusetts using information collected from various sources. Along with confirming existing public water system (PWS) service area information, the project collected and verified estimated service area delineations for PWSs not previously delineated and will continue to update the information contained in the datalayers. As of the date of publication, WURP has delineated Community (COM) and Non-Transient Non-Community (NTNC) service areas. Transient non-community (TNCs) are not part of this mapping project.Layers and Tables:The MassDEP Estimated Public Water System Service Area data comprises two polygon feature classes and a supporting table. Some data fields are populated from the MassDEP Drinking Water Program’s Water Quality Testing System (WQTS) and Annual Statistical Reports (ASR).The Community Water Service Areas feature class (PWS_WATER_SERVICE_AREA_COMM_POLY) includes polygon features that represent the approximate service areas for PWS classified as Community systems.The NTNC Water Service Areas feature class (PWS_WATER_SERVICE_AREA_NTNC_POLY) includes polygon features that represent the approximate service areas for PWS classified as Non-Transient Non-Community systems.The Unlocated Sites List table (PWS_WATER_SERVICE_AREA_USL) contains a list of known, unmapped active Community and NTNC PWS services areas at the time of publication.ProductionData UniversePublic Water Systems in Massachusetts are permitted and regulated through the MassDEP Drinking Water Program. The WURP has mapped service areas for all active and inactive municipal and non-municipal Community PWSs in MassDEP’s Water Quality Testing Database (WQTS). Community PWS refers to a public water system that serves at least 15 service connections used by year-round residents or regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents.All active and inactive NTNC PWS were also mapped using information contained in WQTS. An NTNC or Non-transient Non-community Water System refers to a public water system that is not a community water system and that has at least 15 service connections or regularly serves at least 25 of the same persons or more approximately four or more hours per day, four or more days per week, more than six months or 180 days per year, such as a workplace providing water to its employees.These data may include declassified PWSs. Staff will work to rectify the status/water services to properties previously served by declassified PWSs and remove or incorporate these service areas as needed.Maps of service areas for these systems were collected from various online and MassDEP sources to create service areas digitally in GIS. Every PWS is assigned a unique PWSID by MassDEP that incorporates the municipal ID of the municipality it serves (or the largest municipality it serves if it serves multiple municipalities). Some municipalities contain more than one PWS, but each PWS has a unique PWSID. The Estimated PWS Service Area datalayer, therefore, contains polygons with a unique PWSID for each PWS service area.A service area for a community PWS may serve all of one municipality (e.g. Watertown Water Department), multiple municipalities (e.g. Abington-Rockland Joint Water Works), all or portions of two or more municipalities (e.g. Provincetown Water Dept which serves all of Provincetown and a portion of Truro), or a portion of a municipality (e.g. Hyannis Water System, which is one of four PWSs in the town of Barnstable).Some service areas have not been mapped but their general location is represented by a small circle which serves as a placeholder. The location of these circles are estimates based on the general location of the source wells or the general estimated location of the service area - these do not represent the actual service area.Service areas were mapped initially from 2017 to 2022 and reflect varying years for which service is implemented for that service area boundary. WURP maintains the dataset quarterly with annual data updates; however, the dataset may not include all current active PWSs. A list of unmapped PWS systems is included in the USL table PWS_WATER_SERVICE_AREA_USL available for download with the dataset. Some PWSs that are not mapped may have come online after this iteration of the mapping project; these will be reconciled and mapped during the next phase of the WURP project. PWS IDs that represent regional or joint boards with (e.g. Tri Town Water Board, Randolph/Holbrook Water Board, Upper Cape Regional Water Cooperative) will not be mapped because their individual municipal service areas are included in this datalayer.PWSs that do not have corresponding sources, may be part of consecutive systems, may have been incorporated into another PWSs, reclassified as a different type of PWS, or otherwise taken offline. PWSs that have been incorporated, reclassified, or taken offline will be reconciled during the next data update.Methodologies and Data SourcesSeveral methodologies were used to create service area boundaries using various sources, including data received from the systems in response to requests for information from the MassDEP WURP project, information on file at MassDEP, and service area maps found online at municipal and PWS websites. When provided with water line data rather than generalized areas, 300-foot buffers were created around the water lines to denote service areas and then edited to incorporate generalizations. Some municipalities submitted parcel data or address information to be used in delineating service areas.Verification ProcessSmall-scale PDF file maps with roads and other infrastructure were sent to every PWS for corrections or verifications. For small systems, such as a condominium complex or residential school, the relevant parcels were often used as the basis for the delineated service area. In towns where 97% or more of their population is served by the PWS and no other service area delineation was available, the town boundary was used as the service area boundary. Some towns responded to the request for information or verification of service areas by stating that the town boundary should be used since all or nearly all of the municipality is served by the PWS.Sources of information for estimated drinking water service areasThe following information was used to develop estimated drinking water service areas:EOEEA Water Assets Project (2005) water lines (these were buffered to create service areas)Horsely Witten Report 2008Municipal Master Plans, Open Space Plans, Facilities Plans, Water Supply System Webpages, reports and online interactive mapsGIS data received from PWSDetailed infrastructure mapping completed through the MassDEP WURP Critical Infrastructure InitiativeIn the absence of other service area information, for municipalities served by a town-wide water system serving at least 97% of the population, the municipality’s boundary was used. Determinations of which municipalities are 97% or more served by the PWS were made based on the Percent Water Service Map created in 2018 by MassDEP based on various sources of information including but not limited to:The Winter population served submitted by the PWS in the ASR submittalThe number of services from WQTS as a percent of developed parcelsTaken directly from a Master Plan, Water Department Website, Open Space Plan, etc. found onlineCalculated using information from the town on the population servedMassDEP staff estimateHorsely Witten Report 2008Calculation based on Water System Areas Mapped through MassDEP WURP Critical Infrastructure Initiative, 2017-2022Information found in publicly available PWS planning documents submitted to MassDEP or as part of infrastructure planningMaintenanceThe
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License information was derived automatically
Abstract In this work, we discuss transformations in the meaning of the concept of mass, which are important to physics teaching, by means of three conceptual schemes, which emphasize visual patterns of knowledge organization. We begin by discussing how the meaning of a physical concept is constructed, through its relations with others. In physical theories, these connections usually involve mathematical operations. We focus on the concept of mass and its changes in three different contexts, namely classical mechanics, electromagnetism and relativity. Modifications are displayed as shifts in its relative position in conceptual schemes. These schemes enforce visual knowledge and may be used as didactical tools for teaching the subject, since they stress both the signification of mass in classical mechanics and its re-signification in relativity. This paves the way for a discussion of different approaches adopted for teaching the mass-energy relation in relativity, expressed by the famous formula E = m c 2. As the terms rest mass, relativistic mass and invariant mass, which have different ontological and epistemological contents, are part of this discussion, we consider the main approaches to mass present in both relativity textbooks and discourses by some influential physicists.
Terms of Use:
Data Limitations Disclaimer
The MassDEP Estimated Sewer System Service Area Boundaries datalayer may not be complete, may contain errors, omissions, and other inaccuracies, and the data are subject to change. The user’s use of and/or reliance on the information contained in the Document (e.g. data) shall be at the user’s own risk and expense. MassDEP disclaims any responsibility for any loss or harm that may result to the user of this data or to any other person due to the user’s use of the Document.
All sewer service area delineations are estimates for broad planning purposes and should only be used as a guide. The data is not appropriate for site-specific or parcel-specific analysis. Not all properties within a sewer service area are necessarily served by the system, and some properties outside the mapped service areas could be served by the wastewater utility – please contact the relevant wastewater system. Not all service areas have been confirmed by the sewer system authorities.
This is an ongoing data development project. Attempts have been made to contact all sewer/wastewater systems, but not all have responded with information on their service area. MassDEP will continue to collect and verify this information. Some sewer service areas included in this datalayer have not been verified by the POTWs, privately-owned treatment works, GWDPs, or the municipality involved, but since many of those areas are based on information published online by the municipality, the utility, or in a publicly available report, they are included in the estimated sewer service area datalayer.
Please use the following citation to reference these data
MassDEP. Water Utility Resilience Program. 2025. Publicly-Owned Treatment Work and Non-Publicly-Owned Sewer Service Areas (PubV2024_12).
We want to learn about the data uses. If you use this dataset, please notify staff in the Water Resilience program (WURP@mass.gov).
Layers and Tables:
The MassDEP Estimated Sewer System Service Area data layer comprises two feature classes and a supporting table:
Publicly-Owned Treatment Works (POTW) Sewer Service Areas feature class SEWER_SERVICE_AREA_POTW_POLY includes polygon features for sewer service areas systems operated by publicly owned treatment works (POTWs)Non-Publicly Owned Treatment Works (NON-POTW) Sewer Service Areas feature class SEWER_SERVICE_AREA_NONPOTW_POLY includes polygon features for sewer service areas for operated by NON publicly owned treatment works (NON-POTWs)The Sewer Service Areas Unlocated Sites table SEWER_SERVICE_AREA_USL contains a list of known, unmapped active POTW and NON-POTW services areas at the time of publication.
ProductionData Universe
Effluent wastewater treatment plants in Massachusetts are permitted either through the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) surface water discharge permit program or the MassDEP Groundwater Discharge Permit Program. The WURP has delineated active service areas served by publicly and privately-owned effluent treatment works with a NPDES permit or a groundwater discharge permit.
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permits
In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the EPA is the permitting authority for regulating point sources that discharge pollutants to surface waters. NPDES permits regulate wastewater discharge by limiting the quantities of pollutants to be discharged and imposing monitoring requirements and other conditions. NPDES permits are typically co-issued by EPA and the MassDEP. The limits and/or requirements in the permit ensure compliance with the Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards and Federal Regulations to protect public health and the aquatic environment. Areas served by effluent treatment plants with an active NPDES permit are included in this datalayer based on a master list developed by MassDEP using information sourced from the EPA’s Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS).
Groundwater Discharge (GWD) Permits
In addition to surface water permittees, the WURP has delineated all active systems served by publicly and privately owned effluent treatment works with groundwater discharge (GWD) permits, and some inactive service areas. Groundwater discharge permits are required for systems discharging over 10,000 GPD sanitary wastewater – these include effluent treatment systems for public, district, or privately owned effluent treatment systems. Areas served by an effluent treatment plant with an active GWD permit are included in this datalayer based on lists received from MassDEP Wastewater staff.
Creation of Unique IDs for Each Service Area
The Sewer Service Area datalayer contains polygons that represent the service area of a particular wastewater system within a particular municipality. Every discharge permittee is assigned a unique NPDES permit number by EPA or a unique GWD permit identifier by MassDEP. MassDEP WURP creates a unique Sewer_ID for each service area by combining the municipal name of the municipality served with the permit number (NPDES or GWD) ascribed to the sewer that is serving that area. Some municipalities contain more than one sewer system, but each sewer system has a unique Sewer_ID. Occasionally the area served by a sewer system will overlap another town by a small amount – these small areas are generally not given a unique ID. The Estimated sewer Service Area datalayer, therefore, contains polygons with a unique Sewer_ID for each sewer service area. In addition, some municipalities will have multiple service areas being served by the same treatment plant – the Sewer_ID for these will contain additional identification, such as the name of the system, to uniquely identify each system.
Classifying System Service Areas
WURP staff reviewed the service areas for each system and, based on OWNER_TYPE, classified as either a publicly-owned treatment work (POTW) or a NON-POTW (see FAC_TYPE field). Each service area is further classified based on the population type served (see SECTOR field).
Methodologies and Data Sources
Several methodologies were used to create service area boundaries using various sources, including data received from the sewer system in response to requests for information from the MassDEP WURP project, information on file at MassDEP, and service area maps found online at municipal and wastewater system websites. When MassDEP received sewer line data rather than generalized areas, 300-foot buffers were created around the sewer lines to denote service areas and then edited to incorporate generalizations. Some municipalities submitted parcel data or address information to be used in delineating service areas. Many of the smaller GWD permitted sewer service areas were delineated using parcel boundaries related to the address on file.
Verification Process
Small-scale pdf file maps with roads and other infrastructure were sent to systems for corrections or verifications. If the system were small, such as a condominium complex or residential school, the relevant parcels were often used as the basis for the delineated service area. In towns where 97% or more of their population is served by the wastewater system and no other service area delineation was available, the town boundary was used as the service area boundary. Some towns responded to the request for information or verification of service areas by stating that the town boundary should be used since all, or nearly all, of the municipality is served by one wastewater system.
To ensure active systems are mapped, WURP staff developed two work flows. For NPDES-permitted systems, WURP staff reviewed available information on EPA’s ICIS database and created a master list of these systems. Staff will work to routinely update this master list by reviewing the ICIS database for new NPDES permits. The master list will serve as a method for identifying active systems, inactive systems, and unmapped systems. For GWD permittees, GIS staff established a direct linkage to the groundwater database, which allows for populating information into data fields and identifying active systems, inactive systems, and unmapped systems.
All unmapped systems are added to the Sewer Service Area Unlocated List (SEWER_SERVICE_AREAS_USL) for future mapping. Some service areas have not been mapped but their general location is represented by a small circle which serves as a placeholder - the location of these circles are estimated based on the general location of the treatment plant or the general estimated location of the service area - these do not represent the actual service area.
Percent Served Statistics The attribute table for the POTW sewer service areas (SEWER_SERVICE_AREA_POTW_POLY) has several fields relating to the percent of the town served by the particular system and one field describing the percent of town served by all systems in the town. The field ‘Percent AREA Served by System’ is strictly a calculation done dividing the area of the system by the total area of the town and multiplying by 100. In contrast, the field ‘Percent Served by System’, is not based on a particular calculation or source – it is an estimate based on various sources – these estimates are for planning purposes only. Data includes information from municipal websites and associated plans, the 1990 Municipal Priority list from CMR 310 14.17, the 2004 Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research “percent on sewer” document, information contained on NPDES Permits and MassDEP Wastewater program staff input. Not all POTW systems have percent served statistics. Percentage may reflect the percentage of parcels served, the percent of area within a community served or the population served and should not be used for legal boundary definition or regulatory interpretation.
Sources of information for estimated wastewater service areas:
EEOA Water Assets
The Martha's Vineyard Commission, in varying years, has joined the town water department customer list to the parcel boundary file. Data includes:Edgartown - Year 2008 (water records & parcel boundaries)Chilmark (Menemsha) - Year 2004 (water records & parcel boundaries)Oak Bluffs - Year 2017 (water records; parcel boundaries FY19)Tisbury - Year 2016 (water records; parcel boundaries FY19)The towns of Aquinnah and West Tisbury are fully served by individual private wells. In Chilmark, it is only the Menemsha village which is served by the Menemsha Water Company. Those parcels NOT served by town water in Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, & Tisbury are served by individual private wells.
The USGS compiles online access to water-resources data collected at approximately 1.5 million sites in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
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Utility locations from 2012 desktop survey for regional public safety program. May not be inclusive.Explore all our data on the Cambridge GIS Data Dictionary.Attributes NameType DetailsDescription SITE_NAME type: Stringwidth: 50precision: 0 Name of utility at site
ADDRESS type: Stringwidth: 40precision: 0 Address of utility at site
TYPE type: Stringwidth: 40precision: 0 Type of utility
The data in this feature service uses the same polygons as the MassGIS USGS 1:24,000 Surficial Geology data layer and includes minimum, maximum, and average hydraulic conductivity in feet per day for each surficial unit. Hydraulic conductivity values were extracted from U.S. Geological Survey groundwater reports, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Zone II reports, and other Massachusetts-specific journal articles (a total of 165 aquifer tests or aggregates of aquifer tests depending on the available data in each report).The Hydrogeologic Atlas of Massachusetts provides data on the hydraulic properties of the statewide surficial aquifers. The datasets were developed using surficial geology, bedrock altitude, a statewide groundwater flow model, and a compilation of hydraulic property data from U.S. Geological Survey groundwater reports, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Zone II reports, and other Massachusetts-specific journal articles (a total of 23 sources).\One of the goals of this project was to understand current and projected future groundwater flooding risks across the state. To understand groundwater flooding risks, we developed a statewide three-dimensional groundwater flow model to simulate the water table elevation. The Hydrogeologic Atlas of Massachusetts compiles new datasets developed as input into the groundwater model, groundwater model simulation results, and other statewide map products created through this project. For further information regarding the methods of this study see Corkran et al. (2024), a report submitted to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.Suggested Citation:Corkran, D., Kirshen, A., Moran, B.J., Blin, N., King, R., Bresee, M., & Boutt, D. (2024). Massachusetts State-wide Groundwater Model and Flooding Risk Assessment 1.0. Report funded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and published on the ResilientMass website.See full metadata and the map service.
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Massachusetts Natural Gas Providers, by Town, as of 2015.View data in an online map.