HAMPSTEAD, Md. — Town officials on Tuesday described a $30,843,917 project to centralize drinking-water treatment and remove PFAS from multiple wells, saying pipeline construction will begin in late August and the full pipeline scope is expected to finish by mid-2026.

Mayor Chris Nevin opened the public hearing by saying, "We're gonna talk about the PFAS treatment and centralization project," and town staff then reviewed the chronology, system changes and financing for the multi-year effort.

The project responds to PFAS detections first sampled in 2020. Kevin Hann, supervisor of public works, said Maryland Department of the Environment staff contacted him on Nov. 18, 2020 and told him, "you've gotta turn wells 24 and 25 off. They are over the health action limit," and the town immediately took those wells out of service. Officials said the EPA set a maximum contaminant level of 4 parts per trillion for PFAS in June 2022; that threshold expanded the number of affected wells and prompted the town to pursue centralized treatment.

Toby David, assistant superintendent of public works, summarized the system and scope: the town serves just under 6,300 people with a little more than 2,200 water service connections, and the system pumped about 353,000 gallons per day in 2024. He said the plan will add new sources and treatment capacity and called it "probably the biggest public works project the town has ever, taken under its wing." The engineering design calls for three new water-treatment plants, one addition to an existing plant and multiple raw-water conveyance pipelines that will feed granulated activated carbon (GAC) systems to remove PFAS.

Town manager Jim Wark reviewed the estimated costs and funding. He provided the project total as "$30,843,917." Line-item estimates discussed in the presentation include $2.7 million for pipeline construction, roughly $1.3 million for GAC procurement, about $19 million estimated for treatment-plant construction (two contracts), $93,000 for pipeline inspection services, $3.2 million in engineering design and roughly $1 million in contingency. Wark said the town has paid engineering design costs out of local funds to accelerate work.

Officials described the funding package the town has secured so far: an EPA emerging contaminants grant for $18,914,000; a Maryland Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) forgivable loan for $586,000 (forgivable if project requirements and timelines are met); preliminary awards or approvals for a $1,000,000 IIJA (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) PFAS grant and a $7,157,146 MDE SRF loan. Wark said final confirmations for the preliminary awards were expected in October and the town will continue seeking additional grant money to reduce the planned loan amount.

Engineering and site work details: the town plans centralized plants at multiple locations described in the presentation as North Carol Farms, Dairy, Shallow Run (next to Hampstead Elementary School) and a smaller facility near the Hampstead Skatepark for the Lower Beckleyville supply. Officials said some marginal or idle wells (including two wells offline for manganese or nitrates) will be brought back into service and blended to manage other contaminants while GAC treats PFAS.

Kevin Hann and project engineers described five pipeline tasks to convey raw water from distributed pump houses to the central plants. Contractors will excavate and backfill daily, provide temporary cold patches, and later perform permanent saw-cut-and-overlay patches; town staff said work on the raw-water lines will not interrupt individual household water service because the lines carry untreated water to treatment plants rather than potable service taps. Hann said the pipe will generally be 4-inch plastic raw-water mains and will include air-release valves and valve vaults.

The town expects pipeline work to begin on or about Aug. 24 and outlined the sequence: initial work on Main Street and Upper Ford Lane (tasks 1 and 2), followed by Wellesley-to-Shiloh/Dakota-to-Shiloh segments (tasks 3 and 4), and finishing with the Lower Beckleyville segment (task 5). The contract timeline lists a June 2026 completion for all pipeline work, with officials optimistic weather permitting it could finish earlier.

Permitting and right-of-way details: officials said the town secured easements from Carroll County Public Schools for the Hampstead Elementary plant and obtained agreements with private property owners for access. Where pipelines cross the state bypass, the state required encasement and an isolation valve under the overpass; the town said these extra protections were imposed to prevent a pipe failure from affecting the highway embankment.

Procurement and contracts: the presentation listed six contract groups needed to execute the project — pipeline construction, pipeline inspection, GAC procurement, two sets of treatment-plant construction contracts (split to meet federal timelines), and treatment-plant inspection services. Officials said the Board of Public Works already approved part of the pipeline procurement and that the town had approved design contracts for GMB and HDR in January 2024.

Officials thanked residents and engineers for granting easements and said two small land purchases were required; one parcel was sold to the town at a low price and another was donated. Staff emphasized construction staging and road-repair plans: contractors will provide temporary patches nightly and return later for permanent pavement restoration and eventual mill-and-overlay where needed.

The town concluded the presentation by noting state and federal partners’ assistance, including the Maryland Department of the Environment and the Maryland Water Infrastructure Financing Administration. After the formal remarks, staff remained available for follow-up questions.

Ending: Town staff said more detailed timelines and construction maps will be shared as contracts are finalized and invited residents to ask additional questions after the meeting. No formal vote or ordinance was recorded during the presentation; the session served as an informational public hearing and project update.