100% of MVD's water comes from groundwater. Groundwater is precipitation that has soaked through the ground’s surface and is stored where there are open spaces between rocks and soil. Water is pumped from wells located in various parts of Merrimack and Hollis. Water from each well is treated on-site at each pumping station and distributed through a network of water mains to homes, businesses, and schools.

Many people think of groundwater as underground lakes or rivers. Groundwater, however, is simply water that is stored beneath the earth’s surface within the spaces between rocks and sand or between fractures in bedrock.
When enough water beneath the surface is present in a usable quantity, we call this an aquifer. Compared to water in rivers and streams, groundwater moves very, very slowly.

Groundwater, like all water on Earth, comes from rain and snow, which percolates through the soil until it reaches the zone of saturation. At this point, the water moves toward sites of groundwater discharge, such as lakes, local springs, and oceans.

For more information about groundwater, visit the National Groundwater Foundation.

• Merrimack Village District 
  Business Manager/Water Quality: Jill Lavoie
  e: jlavoie@mvdwaternh.gov 
  p: 603-424-9241 x: 103
   
• NH Department of Environmental Services Drinking Water & Groundwater Bureau
  w: https://www.des.nh.gov/water/drinking-water
  p: 603-271-3503

• US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1
  w: www.epa.gov/region1
  p: 888-372-7341

• EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline
  w: https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/safe-drinking-water-hotline_.html
  p: 800-426-2791

• US Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
  w: www.cdc.gov 
  p: 800-311-3435