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East Lyme approves bond design funding for PFAS treatment at two wells
Summary
The Board of Selectmen authorized $372,000 and $378,000 in bond-funded design work for PFAS removal facilities at Well 1A/6 and Well 4A; town staff said the projects respond to new EPA testing requirements and will be paid by water-rate revenues, with design work enabling bidding next year.
The East Lyme Board of Selectmen approved two separate bond resolutions on June 9 to fund design work for PFAS removal facilities at two town wells.
A motion to appropriate $372,000 for the design of a PFAS removal facility adjacent to Well 1A/6 carried by voice vote after discussion. A second resolution to appropriate $378,000 for design at Well 4A also passed by voice vote. Both measures authorize issuance of bonds to meet the appropriations and were presented as recommendations for the Board of Finance and the town meeting.
Joe, a water-department staff member, told the board that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has tightened testing and that PFAS are now measured in parts-per-billion, which has led to traces being detected in the town’s well water. "We have three years to get in place methods to remove it," Joe said, referring to the town’s expected compliance timeframe toward 2029, and described the current requests as design-phase funding to prepare competitive bid packages.
Joe said the two appropriations cover design work plus a roughly 20% contingency to complete engineering and bid documents; he emphasized that the full construction projects are expected to cost "in the millions," while these votes only fund the design phase. He also said the bonding will be repaid through water-rate revenues, not the town’s general fund.
Board members asked technical and procurement questions: Joe described the treatment approach as large carbon-filter vessels—"activated carbon"—that will be installed in a smaller treatment building near each well site. Spent filter media, he said, is disposed of as "special waste" at facilities that accept that material and is not classified as hazardous waste.
The board discussed whether to bundle the two well projects or treat them separately. Joe and members said splitting the projects may improve chances of securing grant funding from state or federal sources because separate applications can be submitted for each site. The town plans to advertise both projects for bid around the same time to achieve cost efficiency; Joe said the town expects to put design packages out to bid within about a year and that construction would take roughly 1½ to 2 years once contracts are awarded.
Both motions passed by voice vote with no recorded roll-call tallies in the transcript. The resolutions were presented as recommended for further approval by the Board of Finance and the legal voters at a future town meeting.
Next steps: staff will complete design documents and begin the procurement process. The board indicated it will present the bonded appropriations to the Board of Finance and then to voters at the town meeting as required.
