Central Plymouth County Water District Commission

Commission Priorities

The Commission works with partners to advance solutions to problems that have plagued the District for many years: susceptibility to drought, deteriorating water quality, lack of capacity to support an increasing population, and outdated management practices that negatively impact recreation, fisheries, and ecological functions.

​In response to these problems, the Commission has identified the following priorities (in no particular order):

  • Ensuring sustainable, safe drinking water supplies for residents living in District communities
  • Restoring and protecting water quality in the District's many lakes and rivers
  • Providing necessary flow and connectivity to ensure ecosystem function and habitat quality for freshwater species
  • Valuing all economic impacts associated with problems and solutions, including valuing ecosystem services
  • Encouraging strategic collaboration among regional stakeholders to ensure win-win solutions are sustainable
  • Providing viable solutions and financing plans to realize solutions to problems in the District

History and Authority

Included in the Acts of 1964 was an emergency law establishing the Central Plymouth County Water District and enabling the formation of a Commission appointed by an Advisory Board. Under its legislative mandate, the Central Plymouth County Water District Commission is empowered to

  • investigate and allocate water supply sources within the District,
  • study water supply needs and resources of Plymouth County and adjacent portions of Norfolk County, and
  • investigate "all pertinent matters" relating to water quantity, water quality, protection of water resources, and water supply and treatment infrastructure.

Commissioners

The District is under the direction of a three-person Commission. Commissioners, one of whom must be a Brockton resident, are appointed by an Advisory Board to three-year, voluntary (unpaid) terms.

  • Jack O'Leary, Chair of the Commission, is a resident of Plympton and Project Manager with The Vertex Companies. He has over 20 years of experience in civil engineering and in the design and permitting of land development projects. Term expires February 2025.
  • Laura Biechler is a resident of Brockton and is Assistant Vice President of Student Financial Assistance and Enrollment Management at Bridgewater State University. Laura is a graduate of Harvard University and has a Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies, concentrated in US Government Public Policy. She holds a seat on the Brockton Conservation Commission.  Term expires February 2027.
  • Art Egerton is a resident of Pembroke and is a self employed businessman. Art serves on the Pembroke Conservation Commission as Chair and participates in many other Town committees.  His term expires February 2026.

For more details, please see the Central Plymouth County Water District Commission website at https://www.centralplymouthcountywater.org/