Water & Septic

Wells and Septic System at Abbey Road

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The town of Sherborn has neither a central water system, nor sewers. Water is supplied from private wells or a few very small public well systems. Septage is handled with septic systems. For the most part, the town is not involved with these systems beyond the original, rigorous process of overseeing their construction.

Abbey Road has a septic system. Semi-annual maintenance is overseen by the Board of Trustees. See below for Detailed Responsibilities. For those of you who have never lived with a septic system instead of a town sewer, here is some basic information.

How to be a Responsible Septic System User

A properly constructed and maintained system can last a long time if you follow some common Septic System DO's and DON'Ts:

DON'T flush materials that will not easily decompose, such as hair, diapers, wipes, matches, or feminine hygiene products.
DON'T wash or flush medicines or hazardous chemicals into the system. This includes paint, paint thinner and bleach. These kill the bacteria needed to decompose wastes in the septic tank and drain field.
DON'T flush flushable wipes. They do not degrade appropriately due to their synthetic content and may cause your system to fail (i.e. clog).Furthermore, the disinfecting variety may impair the biological processes needed to treat the wastewater, both in the septic tank and in the soil.
DON'T use septic tank additives. These products usually do not help, and some may even be harmful to your system.

In general, if you think something could clog the system, kill the necessary bacteria, or overwhelm the system with extra water, don't put it into the septic system.

Responsibilities for Your Private Water Systems

Abbey Road Private Water Systems

Abbey Road has eighteen condominiums, divided into three groups of six, each group with its own separate, private water system. There is also a single separate well for irrigating the extensive landscape. Water for fire suppression is sourced from each individual water system. Each private system includes the well or wells, distribution lines, storage tank or tanks, supply lines to the units and any other appurtenances to their specific wells. Because of hard water in our area, we use water softening systems.

Water system Owners Responsibilities:

Each of the three water groups of condominiums listed below are joint owners of their well with financial and administrative responsibilities for the maintenance, including the electrical and mechanical equipment in the water rooms, the pumps in the well and ANY of the systems’ needs.

Each individual water systems condominium group is responsible for organizing into a six unit group with a designated person who will receive the bills for the services provided, collect from group members and pay for the services received. The group is responsible for arranging and paying for any other type of service needed to maintain their system well.

Units 1-3 & 16-18:

Wells #3 & #4
Water room A (Also houses mechanicals for the irrigation system.)

Units 4-9:

Well #2
Water rooms B & C

Units 10-15:

Well #1
Water room D & E

Common Irrigation:

Well #5

IMPORTANT NOTES

There is an alarm outside each water room that notifies owners of problems. Each owner should have a key which fits all of the water rooms in case they need to access the water system.
The common irrigation and fire suppression systems are managed by our management company.

Formal Documentation on Water Group Responsibilities:

For more formal information on water at Abbey Road, refer to:

Master Deed Section 6.4 on pages 14-15
Declaration of Trust section 6.1cc on page 13

These two essential documents establish and govern the Abbey Road Condominium Trust. You will find the full text of these documents on the Peacock website. More on the Peacock site, and how to navigate it, is found under New Here on this website.