Drinking Water PFAS Treatment Update
The Abington & Rockland Joint Water Works (ARJWW) is working towards constructing permanent PFAS treatment at the Myers Avenue Water Treatment Plant (WTP) in Abington and the Hannigan WTP located off Hingham Street in Rockland. The ARJWW’s third WTP, Great Sandy Bottom Pond WTP in Pembroke, consistently tests well below the state’s PFAS limit. Work kicked off earlier this month at Myers Avenue and Hingham Street locations.
In addition to the new PFAS treatment systems, additional plant improvements are scheduled including telemetry, electrical, HVAC, and process piping upgrades will be completed at both plants. Work at the Myers Avenue WTP will include activation of a fourth groundwater well source and the addition of a new backwash system for the existing plant. Work at the Hannigan WTP will include installation of a second (backup) conventional filter to provide redundancy of the existing filter in case of emergency and periodic maintenance.
Both the Myers Avenue WTP and Hannigan WTP projects are scheduled to be completed in 2026 and will bring the towns of Abington and Rockland’s drinking water in compliance with state regulations The treatment systems ARJWW is installing are considered the current best technology to remove PFAS and are similar in nature to other surrounding communities that are treating their water for PFAS.
Funding
The ARJWW and the Towns of Abington and Rockland have been proactive on securing funding for these water infrastructure projects to lessen the burden on water rate payers.
$26 Million Interest-Free Loan – The ARJWW secured a $26 Million interest-free loan through the state’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) Program. Both towns agreed to split this loan equally and borrow this money at their respective town meetings. It will be repaid by money generated by water users. The bids were very competitive and construction contracts are projected to be completed below the $26M budget.
$1 Million in ARPA Funds – The towns of Abington and Rockland were each awarded roughly $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money by Plymouth County Commissioners which is helping fund PFAS treatment at the Hannigan WTP.
$2.2 Million in MassWorks Funds – The non-PFAS treatment work occurring at the Myers Avenue WTP is being funded by a MassWorks Infrastructure Program Grant which was awarded a couple years ago to fund design through construction expenses to improve plant production and functionality.
Timeline
April 2019: While completing required MassDEP PFAS sampling of the future fourth well under the Myers Avenue WTP MassWorks design improvements project, the ARJWW discovered PFAS present in the groundwater greater than the state’s anticipated future PFAS6 level limits. Being proactive, the ARJWW, it’s engineering consultant, and MassDEP worked together to determine the best course of action to plan for the future PFAS limits.
September 2020: Myers Avenue WTP was retrofitted with Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) and activated for PFAS treatment as a pilot program. The pilot program remains in service and water consistently tests below state PFAS6 limits.
October 2020: Mass DEP published its public drinking water standard or Massachusetts Maximum Contaminant Level (MMCL) of 20 nanograms per liter (ng/L), or parts per trillion (ppt) for a group of six Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS6).
January 2021: ARJWW proactively began testing for PFAS6 at all of its Water Sources (state-mandated testing did not begin until April 2021).
March 2021: Water from the Hingham Street Reservoir consistently tested over the 20 ppt limit with a quarterly average of 22.88 ppt. The JWW began to explore water treatment methods to remove PFAS6 and develop immediate/short-term remediation plans including Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) applications.
Self-service Water Filling stations became available to customers in sensitive subgroups.
August 2021: ARJWW submitted a project evaluation form application to MassDEP for consideration on the SRF Intended Use Plan.
October 2021: Powered Activated Carbon (PAC) application was discontinued as it was determined to NOT be effective under the current setup. ARJWW continued to investigate methods of PFAS6 removal.
April/May 2022: MassDEP releases its Intended Use Plan for Drinking Water State Revolving Fund approved projects which included the ARJWW’s Myers Avenue and Hannigan WTP PFAS Treatment Projects and future award of a 0%-interest SRF loan (typical SRF loan is 2% interest rate).
Abington and Rockland, at their respective town meetings, both agree to borrow $13 Million for a total of $26 Million to implement a new water filtering system utilizing GAC and resin filters.
October 2022: SRF Construction Application submitted to the State’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) program to request approval to move forward with bidding and construction of the PFAS Treatment Projects
October 2023: The state’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) issues the ARJWW approval to award both projects to the lowest responsible Bidder
The project bidding process was completed, and construction contracts are awarded in November.
March 2024: Construction of full-scale PFAS Treatment at both Myers Avenue and Hannigan WTPs broke ground.
March 2026**: Permanent solutions are expected to be complete at both WTPs and will be in compliance with current EPA & DEP Regulations.
** please note, the Myers Avenue WTP and the Hannigan WTP projects are expected to be completed within two and two and a half years, respectively, but this timeline can be affected by circumstances outside of ARJWW control.