Board of Health hears new PFAS groundwater and well results; town outlines testing, treatment and funding steps

NANTUCKET, Mass. — Town staff updated the Nantucket Board of Health on Jan. 16 about ongoing investigations into PFAS contamination near the Fairgrounds and in parts of the island’s shallow aquifer, and described steps the town is taking to test private wells, treat an impacted municipal well and set aside funds for further response.

Greg Timman, assistant town manager, summarized municipal work that began after a 2019 notice tied to firefighter-foam releases at the airport and said the town has since spent millions on studies, contracts and targeted infrastructure. “Since 2020 the town has appropriated about $15,000,000 … to allocate amongst different departments to better understand” PFAS sources and receptors, Timman said.

The nut graf: Town and state testing has detected PFAS in several shallow groundwater monitoring wells at the Fairgrounds site and at Wannacomet Water Company’s Well 15, officials said. Staff described work now under way — monthly sampling, proposed treatment for Well 15, a possible pilot to remove PFAS from wastewater influent and improved public notification of private-well results — and said funding and permitting steps are being pursued to keep treatment and replacement options available.

Mark Willett, the town’s water department manager, described the discovery at a Wannacomet well. “Through our routine sampling, we had a hit in Well 15… that well was over the 20 part limit. So it is off,” Willett said, adding that Well 15 and nearby Well 16 sit in a shallow, upper aquifer that is hydrologically separate from deeper drinking-water sources used year-round. He said the town and Wannacomet have taken the precaution of turning Well 15 offline…