By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield Center Water District is looking to permanently treat PFAS at the new Glen Drive water treatment plant that is currently being designed.
Superintendent John Scenna recalled during a recent Board of Water Commissioners meeting that ratepayers approved the LCWD’s $9.8 million capital improvement project program during the May 2021 Annual Meeting. The capital program includes constructing a $6.3 million greensand filter water treatment plant at Station 4 on Glen Drive. The new treatment plant will be used to treat iron and manganese, which has caused discolored water problems that have impacted a number of ratepayers.
After ratepayers approved the capital program, CDM Smith Project Manager Anne Malenfant said the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) revised drinking water regulations in October 2021 that regulate the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for the sum of six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances called PFAS6. The LCWD began testing for PFAS6 in September 2021.
Malenfant said MassDEP’s drinking water standard mandates that the minimum PFAS6 level needs to be “equal to or less than” 20 parts per trillion (PPT), which equals one drop of water in 20 Olympic-size swimming pools.
“There is no federal PFAS drinking water standard now,” said Malenfant. “The Environmental Protection Agency is scheduled to announce the federal MCL in March.”
The LCWD recently informed ratepayers in a letter that the PFAS MCL slightly exceeded the 20 PPT requirement during quarters 2, 3 and 4 last year. The average quarter 2 MCL was 21 PPT, the average quarter 3 MCL was 21 PPT and the average quarter 4 MCL was 23 PPT.
Scenna told the Villager in an interview that the LCWD posted the PFAS violations on its website last year, but MassDEP ordered the district to send ratepayers a letter about the violations.
“While LCWD posted general PFAS information and did send out some general language within the September 2022 bills regarding ongoing capital projects in process, including addressing PFAS regulations, that language did not meet the requirements of public notification,” Scenna stated in the letter.
Scenna told the Villager that the Water Commissioners have frequently discussed addressing the PFAS issue during board meetings.
“It’s a complicated puzzle that we are trying to put together long-term,” said Scenna.
Ratepayers at a Special District Meeting in March 2022 approved transferring $587,050 from Retained Earnings to fund a short-term PFAS6 treatment plan as well as begin laying the groundwork for a long-term solution. Scenna informed the Villager that two AVANTech vessels will begin treating PFAS6 at Station 2 on Main Street this month.
“We have had to follow MassDEP’s initiation process before it went live,” said Scenna.
Scenna recommended during the recent Board of Water Commissioners meeting that PFAS6, iron and manganese each be treated in a single building that would be constructed as part of the Glen Drive water treatment plant project.
“We paused to wait for the federal government’s new MCL to be released, but that has yet to happen,” said Scenna. “We should not wait any more. We have to give CDM Smith notice to proceed.”
Malenfant agreed.
“The most efficient design is to combine them into a single building,” said Malenfant. “It will be less expensive to construct.”
While Scenna recommended that PFAS6 be treated at the Glen Drive treatment plant, he said the cost for expanding the facility will be increasing.
“We have a budget issue that we have to address,” said Scenna. “We don’t know what that is yet because we haven’t given CDM Smith the opportunity to pull this building together. This building can be pre-engineered and will be detached from our existing pumping station.”
Scenna also noted that the LCWD has been accepted into the State Revolving Fund (SRF) Loan Program, which provides financing options to municipalities looking to improve their water supplies and infrastructure.
“This will provide us with the opportunity to borrow funds for the Glen Drive project at 0 percent interest,” said Scenna. “That is a really big win when interest rates are at 4.7 percent and are climbing every month.”
Malenfant said the MassDEP is requiring the LCWD to submit the finalized water treatment plant design by Oct. 13 in order to receive a SRF loan.
“That could be done as early as August,” said Malenfant. “That could go out to bid between August and November, and construction would go through from mid to late 2025.”
Water Commissioner Andy Youngren expressed his support for permanently treating PFAS6 at the Glen Drive station. He also noted that being accepted into the SRF Program will save the LCWD “millions of dollars in interest.”
“We have to do everything in our power to meet the deadline,” said Youngren. “If we don’t, it’s going to cost us a lot of money.”
Malenfant said the documents will be submitted by the Oct. 13 deadline.
“We have already done a lot of the heavy lifting, which makes it more than reasonable to have it done by October,” said Malenfant.
House Minority Leader Brad Jones (R-North Reading) and State Sen. Brendan Crighton’s District Director Sean Reid presented Scenna and the Board of Water Commissioners with a $100,000 check that was included in the 2022 Economic Development bill. Jones said the earmark will be used to finance the design for the new treatment plant by incorporating the PFAS6 treatment component.
“We know that the district has some expensive challenges,” said Jones. “We know that this $100,000 is only a small piece of the puzzle, but hopefully this will be the first of more help along the way.”
Board of Water Commissioners Chairman Joe Maney thanked Jones and Crighton for securing the grant on behalf of the LCWD.
“This grant has allowed us to continue our design process,” said Maney. “Without this grant, we would have had to tap the brakes and would have lost months.”
Water Commissioner Steve Walsh, who previously served with Jones in the State Legislature, concurred with Maney’s sentiment.
“You and Sen. Crighton are always accessible and responsive to the needs of the town and the people that you serve,” said Walsh. “This is an incredibly important infrastructure piece to our ratepayers.”
In response to a question from Boston Clear Water Company atty. Richard Nylen, Maney said the LCWD has yet to identify the source of the PFAS6.
Interconnection project
In addition to giving an update on the Glen Drive component of the project, Malenfant gave an update about the $3.5 million interconnection and Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA) supplemental water project.
Malenfant recalled that the LCWD’s interconnection project will allow the district to get supplemental water from the MWRA via Wakefield. She noted that the LCWD will be getting the supplemental MWRA water by installing the interconnection vault under a grass parcel located by the Route 95/128 ramps adjacent to the Main Street and Bay State Road intersection
“The project will go out to bid in the early spring,” said Malenfant. “Construction will take place in the spring and summer. The district needs to join the MWRA before it can take that water.”
Jones and Crighton also helped the LCWD receive an $184,000 Water Management Act (WMA) grant from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) last month. The WMA grant includes $147,200 in state funds from MassDEP along with $36,800 in LCWD matching funds that will be used to finance engineering costs with designing the interconnection fault.
In order for the LCWD to receive supplemental water from the MWRA, Malenfant said the Water Resources Commission (WRC) will be reviewing the project as required by the Interbasin Transfer Act (ITA).
“Because the MWRA water comes from a different basin, it has be reviewed by the Water Resources Commission,” said Malenfant.
After the WRC signs off on the interconnection project, the MWRA Board of Commissioners, the State Legislature and the governor will need to approve it as well. Malenfant said joining the MWRA requires an extensive environmental review.
Scenna anticipates the LCWD will be accepted into the MWRA in 2024.