Lynnfield Center Water District Awarded $184,000 WMA State Grant

House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading), State Senator Brendan P. Crighton (D-Lynn), Lynnfield Center Water District (LCWD) Chair Joseph Maney and Select Board Chair Phil Crawford joined with the Healey-Driscoll Administration today to announce that the LCWD has been awarded a $184,000 Water Management Act (WMA) grant by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).

The WMA grant, which consists of $147,200 in state funding from MassDEP and $36,800 in local matching funds from the LCWD, will be used to fund the engineering design of a system interconnection vault between Wakefield, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) and the LCWD and the Expanded Environmental Notification Form (EENF) required as the first step of the MWRA admission process. The work is expected to be completed by June 30, 2023.

The LCWD currently supplies drinking water to approximately 70 percent of Lynnfield’s residents, four schools and all of the town’s municipal facilities. By tapping into an MWRA-supplied water source through the construction of an interconnection with Wakefield’s water system, the LCWD will be able to diversify its customers’ drinking water supply and alleviate some of the problems it currently experiences due to low flow conditions within the Ipswich River basin, while also helping to reduce its reliance on the North Coastal basin well sources.

Representative Jones and Senator Crighton advocated on the town’s behalf in support of the LCWD’s grant application by submitting a letter of support to MassDEP on December 5, noting that the proposed interconnection will also provide the LCWD with an alternative water source option to help address the critical public health issues posed by elevated levels of Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS). The Lynnfield Select Board also actively backed the project and submitted its own letter of support for the WMA grant.

“I want to thank MassDEP Acting Commissioner Gary Moran, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper, and the Healey-Driscoll Administration for recognizing the importance of this project, which will provide many tangible environmental benefits locally,” said Representative Jones. “This WMA grant will enable the Lynnfield Center Water District to continue to maintain and deliver a safe, reliable and sustainable drinking water supply for its Lynnfield customers for years to come.”

“This grant will allow Lynnfield to take a critically important step to improve the Town’s water infrastructure,” said Senator Crighton. “Thank you to the local and state officials who worked hard to develop and fund this vital project.”

LCWD Superintendent John Scenna stated, “We are very excited to have been awarded these funds. As we continue to explore and implement manners in which to create a robust and sustainable water system moving forward for our customers, any opportunity to perform work off customer rates is very much appreciated. Thank you to our State delegation and local leaders for supporting the District and it’s customers. We look forward to commencing this work in the coming months.”

“I want to thank State Representative Brad Jones and State Senator Brendan Crighton for advocating for the Town of Lynnfield and the Lynnfield Center Water District to obtain this grant. I also want to thank the MassDEP, Energy and Environmental Affairs, and the Healey-Driscoll Administration. This WMA grant will help provide the much needed infrastructure to improve the water quality and quantity being delivered by the LCWD to the residents of Lynnfield,” said Select Board Chair Crawford.

A total of $634,000 in WMA grants were awarded to 10 communities and water suppliers across the state in the latest round of funding to help support water system interconnections, demand management and water mitigation projects. According to EEA Secretary Tepper, “these grants will also leverage an additional $171,280 in project work, bringing the total expenditure to more than $805,000, increasing the positive environmental impact from these key local projects.”