Wayland PFAS Treatment System May Be In Place By Fall: Officials

WAYLAND, MA — Town officials believe a PFAS chemical filtration system could arrive in town this fall, a solution to clean the water supply after testing earlier in 2021 revealed elevated levels of the harmful "forever" chemicals.

Wayland began testing town wells for PFAS, or polyfluoroalkyl substances, in January 2020. The town learned of elevated PFAS levels in the Happy Hollow well field in early February. The state last fall instituted a maximum safe threshold of 20 nanograms per liter (ng/l) of the six PFAS compounds — one Happy Hollow well tested as high as 29.2 ng/l in February.

In a statement Friday, Town Administrator Louise Miller said Wayland had received state approval to expedite the purchase of filtering equipment that could remove PFAS from the Happy Hollow source. At the same time, the town is pursing permits in install the PFAS filtration equipment.

The Board of Public Works on June 30 voted to move forward with a 900-gallon ion exchange resin system to remove PFAS from town water. Town Meeting had previously approved funding for the system.

Wayland has also begun issuing rebates to town water customers affected by the PFAS situation. As of this month, Wayland had issued 625 rebates totaling $20,000.

PFAS chemicals can be found in a number of consumer and industrial products, from foam used to fight fires to spray cans. The chemicals can be found in common household products like nonstick pans, microwave popcorn bags and GORE-TEX clothing. The chemicals can build up in the body over time, and may cause cancer, thyroid disease and birth defects, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Miller said a more clear timeline for the installation of filtering equipment will be announced in the coming months.