Job Opportunities
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Pagacik Scholarship
The Denise M. Pagacik Memorial Scholarship
The Denise M. Pagacik scholarship is an annual, merit based scholarship that focuses on rewarding ambitious individuals interested in the fields of engineering or environmental sciences.
This scholarship was created in memory of Denise M. Pagacik of Littleton, Massachusetts. Denise was a loving mother and wife who lived in Littleton for over 25 years. She was a selfless member of the community who was always there for others at any given moment.
The Denise M. Pagacik scholarship is funded by the Littleton Electric Light and Water Departments (LELWD). In establishing this scholarship, LELWD wishes to recognize the positive impact that Denise had on our community by assisting students to achieve their career goals; an objective which has the added benefit of bettering the community at large.
ELIGIBILITY
Applicants of the Denise M. Pagacik Scholarship must:
- Be a graduating senior from Littleton High School or a Littleton High School Graduate completing freshman year of college.
- Have maintained a grade point average of at least 3.0.
- Must be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in the fields of Engineering or Environmental Science at an accredited undergraduate institution in the United States.
* It is strongly encouraged that the student successfully participated in the Littleton Electric Light and Water Department’s Dual Enrollment Program
AWARD
If selected as a recipient, the student will receive a one-time award of up to a $2,000 scholarship.
For LELWD to issue the payment, the recipient must contact the college you are attending and get a proof of enrollment. The proof of enrollment can be sent directly to LELWD. LELWD will then forward the scholarship award to the college.
APPLICATION PROCESS
To apply, complete the application below and submit a one page essay explaining the importance of community selflessness and how you would like to define your career.
DEADLINE
The deadline for application submission is March 31st, 2026.
SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS
The Littleton Electric Light and Water Department will evaluate all applicants. Applicants will be evaluated and selected using the following criteria:
- Academic excellence and intellectual passion
- Great distinction in leadership activities
- Strength of vision for how your goals can be fulfilled
- Commitment to community involvement
Denise M. Pagacik Memorial Scholarship Application
Sewer Ribbon Cutting
New Littleton Common Sewer System Fully Operating
LITTLETON – The new Littleton Common Sewer System is fully operational after nearly two years of construction to install sewer mains and construct a water resource recovery facility. The system has already sparked economic development in the town center and will improve groundwater quality by reducing reliance on septic systems.
The $45 million project started in the spring of 2023 and finished on schedule in the fall of 2025. The project was awarded $11 million in MassWorks grants and $2 million federal funds. The remaining cost will be paid by sewer users and not local tax revenues.
Local and state officials, the project contractors, and others gathered at the wastewater resource recovery facility on a cold January day for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“For many years, our town has dreamt of a sewer system to serve the Common, and today it is a reality because of the support of the people of Littleton and the leadership of the Board of Water Commissioners and the professional staff at the Littleton Water Department,” said Ivan Pagacik, Chairman of the Board of Water Commissioners. “Even before a shovel broke ground, the plans for the system were sparking development projects on King Street and Great Road, proving its potential for increasing economic activity.”
“This new sewer system will benefit economic development and the environment for generations to come. A project of this size and scope is made possible with assistance from many state, local, and private partners. We are grateful to the Board of Commissioners and all the town boards, committees and departments; the Littleton Town Meeting voters; state Rep. James Arciero and his legislative colleagues; and the Mass.
Department of Environmental Protection, MassDOT, and other state agencies and officials,” said Nick Lawler, P.E., General Manager of LELWD.
The sewer system is permitted by the MassDEP for up to 243,000 gallons per day. The Littleton Common Sewer District will serve 58 commercial-business properties, including several town buildings. The mixed-use development at 550 King Street will be the system’s largest user, followed by the Town of Littleton buildings.
About 50 residential properties are eligible to connect to the system. After a commissioning period in the fall, the sewer system and plant are operational and serving municipal buildings. Properties within the district are now able to connect to the system. The sewer betterment fee, required to connect to the system, is about $40,000 per Residential Equivalent Unit, a standard billing and measurement unit used to compare the impact of different properties to that of an average single-family home.
Even before the completion of construction, sewer planners have been considering future expansion. LELWD is in discussions with MassDEP about increasing the system’s permitted capacity. In addition, the potential exists to expand the district boundaries to serve other areas of Littleton.
The sewer collections system runs from the Westford town line south on King Street, and from the business area on Great Road west to the Common. From there, the system travels south on King Street to Shattuck Street and across lots to Russell Street. It meets the WRRF at 242 King Street, and after treatment, effluent travels to the discharge site adjacent to Littleton High School.
Sewer systems provide benefits to economic development and the environment. The Littleton Common sewer system is expected to spur the development of underutilized properties that have greater potential when connected to the system. This will increase local tax revenues, create new jobs and services, and add needed workforce housing. Sewer systems also improve groundwater quality by replacing septic systems. The Littleton Common area is within the Zone 2 Aquifer Protection Area surrounding the Beaver Brook drinking water wells.
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LELWD Awarded $285K State Grant
LELWD Awarded $285K State Grant
LELWD has won a state grant to reduce the impact of power outages by upgrading equipment in the distribution system. The $285,522 grant was recently awarded by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s (MassCEC) Grants for Enhancing Grid Resilience and Reliability Program.
LELWD will use the grant to install six aging reclosers in its distribution system in Littleton and Boxborough. Reclosers isolate damaged sections of power line, shutting off electricity to the fault, and rerouting electricity around the fault to customers. These switches, in conjunction with sensors and software, turn a potentially large outage into a small, quickly resolved one.
“By upgrading the LELWD infrastructure, technology enables us to automatically isolate an outage by rerouting electricity around the trouble spot. This reduces the number of customers who lose power and helps crews quickly identify and fix the problem. We are grateful to MassCEC for providing this award and recognizing the work LELWD does to keep the lights on for our customers,” said Nick Lawler, P.E., General Manager of LELWD.
MassCEC awarded more than $8 million to seven municipal electric utilities and UMass-Amherst for projects to strengthen the electric grid, reduce costly outages, and better protect residents from the impacts of extreme weather.
LELWD’s customers lost electricity for a total of 30 minutes on average in 2024, compared to 149 minutes for consumers nationwide. The LELWD has been recognized for Excellence in Reliability for eight consecutive years by the American Public Power Association.
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LELWD on ’60 Minutes’
LELWD Case Study Resulted in ’60 Minutes’ Story
As seen on “60 Minutes,” the Littleton Electric Light and Water Departments has publicized the case of foreign hackers targeting its computer systems. LELWD first made the announcement in March with the release of a case study to educate the utility industry and others on cybersecurity threats.
For more information, read LELWD’s public statement from March below and click here to read the case study.
The LELWD issued the following statement on March 14, 2025:
LELWD Publicizes Case Study on Foreign Hackers Targeting U.S. Utilities
LITTLETON, MA – The Littleton Electric Light and Water Departments has participated in a case study with its cybersecurity provider that details the immediate steps taken to protect its computer networks after a 2023 intrusion by foreign hackers. There was no serious threat to public safety or customer data, and LELWD hopes publicizing the problem and solution helps utilities of all sizes act on the threats posed by foreign adversaries.
Here are key points to consider:
- No customer-sensitive data was compromised.
- In November 2023, the FBI alerted the LELWD that a Chinese cyberespionage group, Volt Typhoon, had access to its system. At that time, investigators told the LELWD that about 200 New England organizations were similarly affected.
- The LELWD took immediate action and cooperated with the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to install sensors to monitor the activity of the hackers. While in the system, it appeared the hackers accessed a file server that stores public records.
- By December 2023, the federal government and the hackers were off the system. Last August, CISA returned to the LELWD to perform a two-week penetration test that showed the cybersecurity defenses working properly. The LELWD is a distribution company, and its systems do not have access to or control of the larger, critical electrical grid infrastructure. It appears the LELWD was targeted simply because its system used a firewall with a known security flaw. The then-managed service provider had not updated the firmware and as a result, was terminated.
- The LELWD was already bolstering its cybersecurity to better monitor operational technology (OT) assets, security information technology and OT network traffic, and monitor communications between OT devices and systems. OT systems are used to control and manage physical equipment and processes.
- The LELWD now contracts with managed served provider EvoLab Technology Solutions and uses a system monitoring platform from Dragos, Inc., a provider of OT cybersecurity technology for industrial and critical infrastructure. In addition, the LELWD’s network architecture was changed to render unusable any system information potentially obtained by the hackers.
“We were able to quickly isolate the threat in late 2023 before anything happened, and we accelerated our ongoing work to strengthen our cybersecurity. We worked with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s CISA, the FBI, the American Public Power Association, and our cybersecurity partners, EvoLab and Dragos, to protect our systems. We can now publicize this threat and solution to educate other small utilities. You would never think that you’d be targeted, but there is a real threat from foreign adversaries,” said Nick Lawler, General Manager of the LELWD.
The cybersecurity improvements were led by David Ketchen, Assistant General Manager, whose efforts were recognized by the state’s Executive Office of Technology Services & Security. Ketchen received the Cybersecurity & Risk Management award at the Massachusetts Excellence in Technology Awards in September 2024.
The LELWD was supported by the American Public Power Association, a national organization representing municipal electric utilities nationwide. Though its cybersecurity programs, the APPA has awarded more than $14 million to 32 utilities, funding 78 cybersecurity projects.
“The response to the LELWD breach was swift, according to Dragos. Investigators identified the attacker’s movements, including server message block traversal and remote desktop protocol lateral movement,” reported Infosecurity Magazine. “The compromised organization was able to contain the threat and reconfigure its network to prevent further exploitation. No customer-sensitive data was reportedly compromised.” ###
Please be aware of telephone scams. LELWD will never seek immediate payment over the phone using a prepaid debit card or money order. LELWD does not contract with Eversource or another utility on service shut offs. If called about an instant payment or service disconnection, immediately hang up and call LELWD to verify your account status at 978-540-2222, Mon.-Thurs., 6:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Source Water Protection
Protecting Our Water Source
The Littleton Water Department is committed to delivering clean, reliable water. The LWD and the Town of Littleton integrate land-use planning, groundwater monitoring and environmental audits in a comprehensive aquifer and watershed protection program.
The Town’s Aquifer and Water Resource District zoning bylaw restricts the land uses permitted near drinking water wells. LWD’s environmental analysts regularly test 150 monitoring wells on 40 properties to confirm water quality.
Littleton’s drinking water is regularly tested for contaminants and found to be a higher quality than required by state drinking water standards. For more information, see the 2024 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report.
Littleton's Drinking Water Wells
LWD pumps water out of underground aquifers and into its distribution system at these locations:
- The Whitcomb Avenue wells.
- The Spectacle Pond well.
- The Beaver Brook wells.
- The new Trumbull well on Taylor Street is under development.
What's an Aquifer?
An aquifer is a layer of sediments or rocks under the surface that is capable of holding large amounts of water. Think of a jar filled with pebbles. Pour in water, and it fills the gaps between the rocks.
Rain fills the aquifers by seeping through soil and permeable surfaces, slowly entering the aquifer – a process known as groundwater recharge. Lakes, rivers and wetlands also contribute to recharge.
Groundwater moves not only down deeper into the earth, but it also flows across the soil layer. As drinking water wells pump water out of the aquifer, groundwater flows toward the wells to replenish the supply. This groundwater flow can take a long time to reach the wells.
Aquifer water quality is only as good as the groundwater recharge supplying it. Water can transport substances and chemicals it
encounters. While water does get somewhat “filtered” through natural processes on its journey to and through the aquifer, secondary treatment is necessary in LWD’s treatment plants.
Zone Defense: Protecting Sources
Prevention is the best way to keep groundwater free of contamination.
Littleton’s groundwater wells are protected by Zones I, II, and III. The zones surround the wells, with Zone I the most restrictive. Zone I is a defined distance from the water source, and Zones II and III are set by the area’s impact on the aquifer. (See the map for Zone I and II locations.)
Zone I: A 400-foot radius around the LWD groundwater wells. LWD owns the land and no trespassing is permitted.
Zone II: Not a fixed radius, Zone II is the area that will transmit groundwater to the wells when there is no precipitation recharge for three months. Littleton’s bylaws establish an Aquifer District to restrict allowable uses in order to protect groundwater. The Aquifer District encompasses the Zone II areas. (The Aquifer District is shown in dark blue on the nearby map.) The bylaw prohibits activities within the Aquifer District, including the storage of hazardous waste, road salt and treatments, petroleum products, chemicals and fertilizer. It also prohibits automobile sales, junkyards, landfills, truck terminals, and deep earth removal.
Zone III: It is areas outside of the Aquifer District that also contribute to aquifer recharge. Zone III is also called the Water Resource District (shown in light blue on the nearby map). Generally, a special permit is required to authorize certain activities in this zone. Approved developments in this zone are typically required to install water monitoring wells as a condition of the special permit.
Groundwater Monitoring Program
In Littleton, 144 groundwater-monitoring wells are located on over 40 properties. They are maintained and sampled by the water department to monitor for the presence of contaminants and to track pollution trends across the monitoring well sites.
Monitoring wells, as opposed to production wells, are used to extract samples for quality testing. They are a window into aquifer water quality.
LWD’s environmental staff annually samples the wells and sends it for testing at qualified laboratories. Typically, water is sampled for general chemistry parameters like pH, conductivity, temperature, turbidity, etc.
Samples may be analyzed for mineral content, nitrogen species, metals and heavy metals, and volatile organic compounds. Per state water quality standards, water samples may also be tested for specialty pollutants like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), perchlorate, bacteriology, and more.
Environmental Audits
Water Department environmental personnel are authorized to conduct environmental audits of regulated facilities to ensure compliance with Littleton’s Aquifer and Water Resource Protection Bylaws and other state and federal regulations. These typically consist of a walk-through inspection to assess the environmental liability of products at the site, with recommendations offered for safe storage and handling procedures.
Additional Resources
Paving Schedule
Paving & Planting Scheduled to Complete Sewer & Water Main Projects
The following paving related to LELWD projects is planned for the remainder of 2025.
Whitcomb Avenue
Paving is planned for the week of September 15. Work will take place in three phases with separate detours for each:
- Taylor St. to Sanderson Rd.
- Sanderson Rd. to Porter Rd.
- Porter Rd. to Route 2 Bridge
- Expect detours between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.
- This will be a full-width paving.
- Follow detour signs and use caution in this area.
Meetinghouse Road
King Street Common to Westford line
King Street small area near I-495 bridge
Great Road near Acton Toyota of Littleton
Paving is expected in October and November. This section will be updated when more information is available from the contractor.
Paving schedules are subject to change without advanced notice.
Milling grinds off the top layer of existing asphalt to prepare the surface for paving. Milled roads may not be immediately paved. Please proceed with caution.
The contractors are required to repair and seed damaged turf at the end of the project – typically after the final road paving. The project specifications call for any planting to occur between April 15 and June 1 or between August 15 and October 30.
For More Information On The Projects
Invitation For Bid & Proposals
Invitation For Bids & Proposals
All Legal Notice and Advertisement Bids will be posted here when they become available by LELWD. Select your desired notice below and follow the instructions specific to that notice. Littleton Electric Light & Water Departments reserves the right to reject any or all bids, wholly or in part in accordance with Massachusettes General Law.
Boxborough Water Main
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This project will bring public water to about 1,100 residents living along the western edge of Boxborough, where drinking water wells are contaminated with PFAS and road salt
Construction Update
Updated August 18th, 2025
Water Main Installation & Well Project Progressing
Water Mains
The water main from the Whitcomb Avenue Water Treatment Plant to Boxborough has been nearly completed.
- Paving on Whitcomb Avenue is now scheduled for September. (It was originally set for mid-August.)
- Water main installation on Mass Ave./Route 111 in Boxborough is to begin August 25.
Trumbull Well Development
This project also includes the development of a new well. The Trumbull Well on Taylor Street will be installed in late summer, early fall of 2025. Building of the pump house will start shortly after.
This project cost is estimated at about $19.1 million in total. The estimated $10 million to extend the water main to Boxborough will be paid for by the new customers who benefit from the project.
The Trumbull Well will supply about a quarter-million gallons of water per day, of which less than 25 percent will be needed to meet the demand of the Boxborough customers and 75 percent of the water will go toward Littleton’s needs.
The cost of developing the well is being split, with 24.5 percent (or about $2 million) to be paid for by Boxborough ratepayers through a betterment charge. The balance of about $6.9 million is to be paid for by all ratepayers, through regular rates and debt service, as it benefits the entire system.
Because this well is being developed to address PFAS contamination, the project qualified for a no-interest state loan. This will save all ratepayers a lot of money.
Paving Whitcomb Avenue
Paving on Whitcomb Avenue, from Taylor Street to the town line, is now scheduled for September. (While previously scheduled for August 11, construction and paving schedules are subject to change.)
It will be a permanent mill and overlay. Please note, we are required to wait at least three months, and sometimes longer, before applying the final layer of pavement over a trench patch to allow for settling. This reduces the potential for voids forming under the pavement which can result in potholes. We also make sure the new pipes are sealed tight and working properly so we don’t have to dig up new pavement to fix a problem.
Forum
Thank you for joining us for a public forum held on January 15th, at 7pm. You can watch the replay here.
For more information, watch the replay of the Boxborough Water Extension forum from July 26.
Watch the first Boxborough Water Line Extension Project Information Session from January 2023.
Pagacik Scholarship Winners
Pagacik Scholarship Winners to Study Engineering, Environmental Sciences
Three graduates from Littleton High School who will pursue degrees in engineering and environmental science have been awarded the Denise M. Pagacik Memorial Scholarship.
Tvisha Nanda, Kaitlyn St. Gelais, and Cainan Pletcher each received a $2,000 prize toward college tuition. This is the first year three winners have been chosen due to the strength of the applicants.
The scholarships are given in the memory of Denise M. Pagacik, the late wife of LELWD Commissioner Ivan Pagacik. A Littleton resident for more than 25 years, she was a loving mother who is remembered for her selfless commitment to the community and helping others. Two scholarships were funded by the Pagacik family and the third by LELWD.
“Tvisha, Kaitlyn and Cainan all have a track record of academic achievement, but perhaps most importantly, they have demonstrated a commitment to their community through volunteering and public service,’’ said Nick Lawler, LELWD’s general manager.
The competitive scholarships are awarded to LHS students pursuing engineering or environmental sciences – careers vital to the future of electric and water utilities.
- Cainan will be attending Lehigh University for engineering.
- Tvisha will be attending UMass Amherst to study biomedical engineering.
- Kaitlyn will be attending the University of New Hampshire for environmental science.
Scholarship Leads to Engineering Career
Four years after receiving the Denise M. Pagacik scholarship from the LELWD, Littleton resident Paige Hornbeck is launching her career with the engineering firm Weston & Sampson in Manchester, N.H.
Paige graduated from the University of New Hampshire in May with a civil engineering degree, and recently joined the company’s structural and transportation sector, working with software for site plans and structural calculations.
Paige loves interacting with people and hopes to work her way into the field, engaging with community members and learning more about environmental sustainability. The 2021 Littleton High School alum thanked LELWD and her community for the support that helped guide her career path.
“Having that support from multiple sectors and knowing that people cared about putting me through college with this specific degree was really assuring,’’ she said.
July 8th, 2025