Barnes agrees that there is no proof of a present risk, but says she feels dogs are still inappropriate near an open water supply.

"Isn't it funny the only place you can have your dog off a leash in metropolitan Boston is also the only public drinking water supply in Boston?" Barnes asks.

Future of Fresh Pond

The Cambridge Water Department and the city manager's office have begun plans this year for a new treatment facility at Fresh Pond.

The project, which Barnes estimates will cost $40 million, would be completed in the late 90s.

Barnes says she believes the quality of the water has improved since 1988, but that a new distribution system would enhance water purity.

Barnes says many of the pipes which supply water to homes and businesses are in disrepair and need to be replaced or renovated, because the majority of the pipes were installed between 1880 and 1920.

City Manager Healey says his office plans to have the new treatment facility ready for a bid by 1995.

Funds for a new treatment plant would come from increased water rates, Barnes says.

But that solution may have its drawbacks.

Harold A. Hawkes, associate director for engineering and utilities in the Harvard facilities maintenance department, says an increase in water rates would be a substantial expense for the University.

"Harvard's water bill is already nearly $2 million per year," Hawkes says.

Harvard University is second only to MIT in water consumption. Combined with Harvard Real Estate, the University becomes the city's largest water customer--on the order of 500 million gallons a year.

The water mains which run under Harvard Yard and pump water to University buildings were replaced last summer, says Hawkes.

But Peter Bushnack of Harvard's Office of Environmental Safety says many of the pipes in Harvard buildings were sealed with a lead solder which reacts with Cambridge water and can leave lead residue.