WOBURN – As the city eyes a permanent treatment plant solution to filter out polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from Woburn’s drinking water, at least 90 households across Woburn recently qualified for a new bottled water rebate program.
During a recent City Council gathering, Mayor Scott Galvin encouraged pregnant women, nursing mothers, the immune-compromised, and families with infants to apply for the new benefit, which extends a monthly $30 rebate to defray the purchase of PFAS-free drinking water.
Launched in early January, the special initiative is one of several short-term corrective actions being take by city leaders to address the presence of a class of forever chemicals within Woburn’s water supply.
“What we’ve done is set up a rebate program that basically gives someone who qualifies $30 per month off their water bill. We’ve already issued 90 checks to people who have filled out complete applications,” the mayor told the council.
Besides distributing funds for bottled water, city officials have also installed a new PFAS-free water filling station on the side of Woburn’s Senior Center off of School Street. At the time of the council meeting, local water department managers were still waiting for MassDEP to sign-off on the second short-term mitigation measure. However, once sanctioned, citizens will be able to fill empty water jugs and other containers from the station.
Eventually, local officials hope to approve a $17.6 million expansion at Horn Pond’s water treatment complex to add new PFAS filtering capabilities that would eliminate virtually all traces of the chemicals from the local water supply.
Officials at the treatment plant have been testing water for PFAS levels since at least 2016, and during that time, Woburn’s samples have always registered well-below a federal 70 parts per trillion (PPT) standard set for around a half-dozen PFAS subtypes. A class of industrial chemicals commonly used for their water-proofing or anti-stain effects, thousands of different PFAS variations have apparently leeched their way into the country’s soil, air, and water supplies. Presently, state and federal testing standards only apply to a handful of those PFAS types.
This fall, city officials learned Woburn had just barely failed to meet a more rigid 20 part per trillion PFAS standard enacted by MassDEP in the spring of 2021. Specifically, water tests from last summer were found to have PFAS concentrations of 24 parts per trillion.
As Galvin explained at the recent council meeting, water users will be receiving a second notice about PFAS levels in the coming days and weeks, as water tests from the fall of 2021 sampled at 22 PPT.
“Going forward, when we’re not in compliance, we’ll have to send out a notice to residents. So there is a notice of non-compliance that will be sent out very shortly,” the mayor explained.
Since Woburn first sent out notices to water customers about the original PFAS violation, city officials have fielded calls from dozens of extremely concerned residents.
However, according to city consultant Carol Rego, an engineer hired to help Woburn address the recent PFAS issues, since the new MassDEP standard went into effect, samples taken from the city’s water supply have on average contained PFAS levels of 18.5 PPT.
With many surrounding communities seeing much higher concentrations of the forever chemicals, Rego and others have assured the public that that Woburn’s PFAS levels are not necessarily getting worse – even if multiple notices are being sent out to homes.
“If [PFAS levels drop back below 20 PPT], which you can see has happened in the past, a notice will not go out [letting residents know that the latest tests showed an improvement]. However, if it then goes back over 20, another notice does have to go back out,” said Rego.
Rego and other city officials say pregnant and nursing women, parents of infants, and other at-risk groups can potentially mitigate any harmful PFAS effects by taking advantage of the bottled water rebate program or using the new Senior Center filling station.
“DEP recommends consumers in sensitive populations, including pregnant or nursing women, infants under one year of age and people diagnosed by their health care provider to have a compromised immune system not to consume, drink or cook with water when the level of PFAS6 is above 20 ppt. These individuals are advised to use alternative sources of water such as bottled water tested for PFAS6,” last month’s announcement regarding the bottled rebate program reads.
“To qualify for this rebate program, you need to provide written proof from a medical professional that you fall into one of sensitive populations defined above,” the notice added. “Proof of residency by water bill, tax bill or signed lease. Birth certificate for child under one year old.”
Those looking for additional details about the short-term mitigation measure should visit the City of Woburn’s website or logon to https://www.woburnma.gov/news/2022/02/bottled-water-rebate-program/.
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