Three Holliston residents — including Denehy and Cordon — are listed as contributors, and have been working with researchers for years.
"We’re concerned particularly about drinking water," Clark University researcher Timothy J. Downs said.
The Boston University and Clark University joint study also included photos by Holliston residents of brown water.
Discolored water is a regular problem in Holliston, Department of Public Works Director Sean Reese said.
Though this month’s study focuses on Holliston, manganese is a problem across New England, especially in shallow aquifers that are overworked.
Manganese, unlike most of the contaminants listed in the Boston University-Clark University study, is labeled a secondary contaminant by the state and federal government.
"I think it will be the next regulated contaminant," Reese said.
In Holliston, Reese said the town’s two treatment plants filter out manganese, but a third plant is needed.
She doesn’t know if manganese caused her daughter’s autism, epilepsy, and missing kidney.
She doesn’t even know if the health issues and birth defects she’s noticed locally throughout the years have anything to do with the drinking water.