Hawthorne reports PFAS system online, outlines $7M treatment cost and 9% water-rate hikes in 2025 and 2026

Mayor Lane told the Hawthorne Borough Council the borough's new PFAS treatment system has been operational since April and that early testing has returned non-detect results for regulated PFAS and several compounds under consideration by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Why it matters: The system and an ongoing water-service replacement program together create long-term capital and operating costs that the mayor says will require higher water rates and long-term financing. The council heard a timeline for pipeline phases and a projection of two 9% rate increases in the next two years.

Mayor Lane said the PFAS treatment project cost roughly $7,000,000 and that the borough expects to receive “in excess of $2,000,000” from a class-action settlement with multiple PFAS manufacturers to apply toward that construction cost. He said the balance will be financed with low-interest loans from the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank and…