WESTFORD—On Nov. 14, the Westford Water Department held a groundbreaking ceremony for two treatment facilities that will remove regulated PFAS, known as “forever chemicals,” from the town’s water supply.
Town officials were joined by state Rep. James Arciero and staff members of U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan’s and state Sen. John Cronin’s offices at the Forge Village Water Treatment Facility.
“It’s an essential step forward in protecting the health of Westford residents,” Town Manager Kristen Las told the group that had gathered. “These treatment plants will remove harmful contaminants from our water supply.”
Two identical facilities, 4,500 square-foot buildings, one at the Forge Village Water Treatment Plant and one at the Nutting Road Treatment Facility, will be built.
These facilities will each house two pairs of 12-foot in diameter filters that contain 40,000 pounds of granular activated carbon, according to Tighe & Bond, the project’s engineering and environmental consulting firm. R.H. White Construction is the general contractor.
The new facilities will treat about 3 million gallons of water per day.
The total project cost will be $24.5 million.
The water department received a $23 million 0% interest loan through the State Revolving Fund, which provides affordable financing options to communities across Massachusetts to improve water infrastructure and meet compliance with federal and state quality standards among other projects.
Large mounds of dirt framed the area where the announcement was made as work had already begun a few weeks ago. While the signs showing projected images of the completed facilities kept blowing over in the brisk November wind.
What are PFAS?
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, are a large, complex group of synthetic chemicals used in many products. PFAS keep food from sticking to packaging or cookware. PFAS make carpets and clothing resistant to stains. And they make firefighting foam more effective.
But scientific studies have identified multiple health effects from PFAS. Concern about how widespread these chemicals are in human blood and urine samples, the amount of exposure people have to them and how long they remain in the environment has led to more research, according to the National Institute of Environmental and Health Studies, part of the National Institutes of Health.
Massachusetts officials created a standard for PFAS, enacted in 2020. State standards must at least meet federal standards, said Jennifer Pederson, executive director of the Massachusetts Water Works Association, a nonprofit education group.
Pederson spoke at the groundbreaking. Mark Warren, superintendent of the Westford Water Department, has been a past board member of the group.
Right now, the Massachusetts standards are 20 parts per trillion, but EPA standards are 4 parts per trillion, so facilities have time to reach that more stringent federal level, Warren said.
Warren said the new plants will take out the regulated PFAS, moving them to below their regulatory and reporting limit.
Pederson said removing PFAS from water supplies is helpful because that’s “one less route of exposure for residents.”
Westford customers may have, in recent years, noticed a change in their water bills, said Titus Palmer, a board member of the Water Department’s Board of Water Commissioners.
After about 13 years of no increase, residents saw about a 22% increase in their bill, which they pay quarterly, Palmer said.
Improvements, like these PFAS facilities are paid for by water customers, Warren said, adding the 22% increase was not related to these new facilities. He said that increase was the result of years of not raising the rates and increased costs following the COVID-19 pandemic. He expects going forward that customer’s bills will increase at a lower rate, possibly about 6.5% every other year.
Construction began a few weeks ago and is expected to continue through the winter, Warren said. The facilities are scheduled to go online in June 2027.
“Westford has been proactive in addressing PFAS,” Pederson said.
Jake Mastrandrea, outreach director for U.S. Rep Lori Trahan, said, “The bottom line is that no family should have to worry about the safety of their drinking water.”
