Millville to pilot new treatment after $1M PFAS grant; bottled water provided for 2025–26

MassDEP and town officials briefed the school committee on Nov. 14 about a $1,000,000 allocation included in an EPA-approved work plan to address emerging contaminants — including PFAS and manganese — at Millville Elementary School.

The MassDEP official said the award is part of a $38 million federal package passed to the Commonwealth and that Millville was prioritized on the state work plan for a $1,000,000 grant. The grant will fund a two-phase approach: short-term installation of treatment equipment to address total organic carbon (TOC) and PFAS, and concurrent planning and design work for a replacement water well if necessary. "There is an approved work plan, and there's a budgeted amount for $1,000,000," the MassDEP official said.

Town and engineering staff told the committee the immediate focus is a pilot test of a new TOC-removal technology that the vendors and engineers say will prevent fouling of granular activated carbon systems and improve PFAS treatment effectiveness. MassDEP and the town emphasized that the pilot is intended to be completed quickly and could remove the need to drill a new well; if the pilot fails, the grant can also fund a traditional granular-activated carbon solution or a replacement well.

Residents and several committee members pressed for clearer timelines and stronger assurances for families. One resident said the prospect of relying on "hope" was difficult to convey to parents: "What assurance are we supposed to be giving families that the water will be safe, not 'we think' it will be safe?" the resident asked. Officials replied that the state has asked the town to submit scope and budget forms to EPA and that the schedule depends on EPA and vendor approvals; some recent projects were approved in a month, others took longer.

Officials also described a recent routine testing complication: several samples showed total coliform and a faulty phosphate pump was repaired; follow-up testing returned to acceptable levels. MassDEP clarified that total coliform detections are a common operational finding and that E. coli (a separate measure) would be an immediate public-health trigger.

The town reported the selectmen already voted to provide bottled water for cooking and drinking while work proceeds. "As long as the town is providing bottled water, there is no exposure to drinking water that might exceed standards," the MassDEP official said in summary of prior correspondence. Committee members asked that staff return test results and pilot outcomes to the committee for review before making any decision about returning students to the building.

Officials said the grant covers pilot equipment, engineering, planning and potentially well construction; the vendor and town will need to provide a budget breakdown and design documents to EPA to obtain final approval. Staff estimated the federal-state paperwork and vendor approvals could yield action in early 2025 if forms and new-source approvals proceed quickly; the grant funds must be spent by March 2028.

Next steps: town engineers will finish the scope and budget forms for submission to MassDEP and EPA; the pilot vendor will pursue state new-source approval; and the committee will review water test results, pilot progress and any proposed well design before changing interim bottled-water policies.