By Geena Monahan—For the North Star Reporter
In a joint session with the Department of Public Works on Monday, March 10, the Town Council heard from DPW Director Mark Hollowell and the Board of Public Works on the ongoing situation with PFAS chemicals in the town’s water.
Hollowell spoke with the council on how North Attleborough is leading the way in water quality, is in compliance with all Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection standards and on-track to meeting new standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency to reach under 4 parts per trillion (ppt) by 2029 for PFAS.
A citizen’s petition was filed by Councilor Mark Gould, requesting this public hearing and for the DPW to update the council and the public with a written report on the condition of the water, steps being taken and progress being made. A request was also made for the DPW to provide quarterly reports and updates.
Hollowell pointed to their website as proof that he has already been providing monthly reports of PFAS levels since 2021.
“We follow DEP and EPA guidelines,” said Hollowell. “They look at this stuff exhaustively, they’ve been looking at this since 2015. There are 35 states in this country who have never tested for PFAS. So, I understand people have concerns, but we have clean drinking water. We have clean drinking water and we’ve been extremely proactive in what we’ve been doing.”
The chemicals in PFAS are man-made and used in the manufacturing of certain fire-fighting foams, moisture and stain resistant products, and other industrial processes. Those who drink water containing large amounts of PFAS may experience adverse effects to their livers, cholesterol, thyroid, immune system, and may increase the risk of some cancers.
The road to clean water
In October of 2020, MassDEP published a public drinking water standard of 20 ppt for PFAS, which at the time was significantly lower than the EPA’s former standard of 70 ppt. According to Hollowell, in December of that year, North Attleborough began testing and found that the Adamsdale Well and McKeon Treatment Facility were slightly over MassDEP’s new regulation for PFAS. Upon testing over the limit, two requirements were given to North Attleborough: start addressing the problem and provide PFAS-free water for sensitive subgroups, such as people with compromised immune systems, pregnant mothers, nursing mothers and infants under the age of 1.
Hollowell noted there was never a regulation for any other person to have to stop drinking the water. North Attleborough received a grant for $150,000 to start a free water kiosk, which was available for residents to use at the DPW up until February of this year, and started construction on the two wells.
“We started off by doing the Adamsdale Well. This was during COVID and was very challenging,” said Hollowell. “We had supply chain issues and that project took much longer than we anticipated. We were part of a new DEP program, because they enacted this, and we got a lot of money from the prior administration to do construction programs.
“In the interim, the McKeon Well had tested positive at just over 24 parts per trillion, and because that was one of our larger plants at two million gallons a day, we were unable to shut that down. This is why we were required to give residents quarterly notifications as long as we were not meeting the DEP standard.”
According to Hollowell, the total project cost for the Adamsdale Well and McKeon facility was just over $12 million, but only $7.3 million was spent by the town because of loan forgiveness programs, 0% interest rates on the loans and a federal earmark from Congressman Jake Auchincloss for almost $1 million.
Hollowell noted that while other neighboring towns complied by blending their water or just shutting a well off altogether, North Attleborough acted quickly and was able to take advantage of these government programs to lower the cost for taxpayers.
DPW’s website, where the monthly reports are posted, showed that as of January of last year, the Mckeon Well fell under the 20 ppt limit and has never gone back over. It is currently at 0 ppt because the PFAS treatment system is now online, bringing measurements to an undetectable level.
Plans for the future
As of February, the Hillman Well and Whiting Street Treatment Facility tested at 14 ppt and 11.7 ppt, respectively, which complies with Massachusetts’ standards but does not yet meet the EPA’s new measure of 4 ppt. Design for the Hillman Well will start this year and will be put out to bid for the following fiscal year. Once construction on Hillman begins, the Whiting Street treatment plan can start its design phase.
Hollowell estimates that the cost to complete the final two wells will be around $28 million, including interest.
“We had a meeting with Senator Auchincloss about a week ago, and one of the things that was brought up were PFAS and our concerns about the costs for everybody,” said Hollowell. “He was emphatic, there’s no more money out there for PFAS, because, unlike us who started early when there was money available for it, now everyone has to address PFAS over the next five years. So, they either give everybody money, which they’re not gonna do, or they’ll give nobody money.”
Hollowell also addressed a notice that went out to residents in October, regarding an amended lead and copper rule from the EPA, asking the DPW to create a website that tells residents whether or not they have lead in their pipes. Within the next six months, the town will become aware of every lead surface in town and then has five years to get out all lead that North Attleborough is responsible for.
Public discussion
After the presentation, residents and councilors had the opportunity to ask questions of Hollowell and the Board of Public Works. Gould explained that he asked for this to be on the agenda because North Attleborough’s water was the number one thing he was asked about when speaking with members of the community.
Gould went on to question Hollowell on the timeline for the last two wells to be completed, and also read a letter that was sent to him by a resident who had concerns over the free water kiosk being removed.
“I understand and appreciate very much that this is a concern to people,” said Hollowell. “I’ve had the message board up at the kiosk for a month for people to come in and talk to us. I’m always very good about sitting down and talking to residents if they have issues with the drinking water or anything else. We have a very strong open-door policy for residents to come in and talk with us.”
Gould also expressed frustration in seeing that the water supervisor position was recently posted as available, asking why that position has been empty for years. Hollowell responded that the position is and has been filled, and is only currently posted because the employee would like to retire.
John Donohue, who sits on the Board of Public Works, took this time to share his own frustrations on misinformation being spread about the safety of North Attleborough’s water. Donohue noted that of the 185 cities and towns in the state of Massachusetts who have PFAS, only Mansfield and North Attleborough have been aggressive in handling them.
“I’m very happy to see so many people here to hear this, because one of the frustrating things is this gentleman, Mr. Hollowell, has come before the council at least six or seven times to talk about the condition of the PFAS in the town,” said Donohue. “The Board of Public Works has our meetings and you are more than welcome, Mr. Gould, to come to our meetings and ask us all the questions you want to ask, instead of going on social media and bashing the board.”
Michael Thompson, chairman of the Board of Public Works, spoke at the end of the hearing to remind residents that these measurements are not parts per thousand, nor parts per million or billion, but parts per trillion.
“It’s so minute and it’s so small. I don’t want people to be so afraid of this until you look at what we’re talking about,” said Thompson. “I’ve served on several boards and committees over the past 30-odd years, and this is the one thing that the Town of North Attleborough has been very hard on, to maintain the supplies of water that we produce in this town and to make sure that the residents of this town are safe.”
