12.13.2021 Town of Wayland PFAS6 Remediation Activities Update

Wayland, Massachusetts - The Town of Wayland issued an update today regarding the town’s ongoing efforts to address elevated PFAS6 levels in the drinking water supply. Test results for PFAS6 at the town wells, continue to be stable with the Happy Hollow wellfield testing above the regulated levels for PFAS6.

The Chamberlain wellfield continues to test consistently below the maximum contaminant level for PFAS6, but not low enough to be removed from the monthly testing obligation. The Campbell and Baldwin Pond wellfields have consistently and reliably been testing well below the maximum contaminant level for PFAS6 and therefore are tested on a less frequent MassDEP schedule.

The town continues to make progress with the implementation of the PFAS6 remediation solution at the Happy Hollow wellfield. The construction of the concrete pad and foundation on which the PFAS6 treatment equipment will reside, has been completed. By December 17th, 2021, the town expects to have taken delivery of the treatment vessels, and will begin finalizing the connections needed for system start-up. The town anticipates full system connection and implementation by mid-January and full MassDEP compliance for PFAS6 levels across all wells as early as late January, 2022.

The town continues working to identify potential sources of PFAS6 at the Happy Hollow wellfield. The Town has added monitoring wells 7 and 8 for testing and removed other sampling and monitoring wells in areas that are not considered to be in locations that contribute to the water in the wellfield. The town has been working to coordinate the timing of the PFAS6 sample collection to determine whether the drinking water and groundwater PFAS6 composition can be further identified. However, with numerous communities effected by PFAS6 needing timely test results, the test results from the monitoring wells are not yet available. The Town will post to the website the latest round of groundwater results once received.

Lastly, the town provided an update on the status of two (2) funding sources the town recently worked to secure for the purposes of offsetting some of the PFAS6 mitigation costs. Town Administrator Louise Miller stated, “I am happy to announce that the Town has been awarded nearly $150,000 in MassDEP funding to help finance the costs related to addressing PFAS6 in the water supply. We are still awaiting information on another $100,000 grant from the state ARPA funds. I would like to thank the various elected officials who assisted the town to secure these funds. I am hopeful that as the PFAS6 issue continues to rise in importance, the grant funding opportunities will increase as well.” The $250,000 in funding will be used to underwrite the equipment the town has identified as the most effective short-term mechanism to combat PFAS6 in the town’s drinking water supply.

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