Business

City is moving forward with water filtration

Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan (WNG file photo)

WESTFIELD – Mayor Brian P. Sullivan said on Thursday that the city is moving forward. “The city’s plans and focus haven’t changed. We’re moving forward with the best engineered plans that we have,” the Mayor said.
“We’re going forward and getting those wells back online, so the people can have safe and clean drinking water,” said Department of Public Works Director David Billips.
The contract for the filtration plant for Wells 7 and 8 is ready to be signed, following the 20-day waiting period from the vote by the City Council to support the $13 million bond. Last week, Billips said that R.H. White Construction and Service Solution out of Auburn had been selected from bids to build the water filtration plant.
“They have done a lot of work for us. They’re the best firm out there. We were very happy when they won the bid,” Billips said, adding that he is hoping that concrete will be poured before the winter. The four Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filter vessels for the plant will also be ordered this week. Billips said they expect the plant to be up and running in late spring or early summer of 2019.

DPW Director David Billips. (Photo by Amy Porter)

Westfield Purchasing director Tammy Teffts said the contractor will be notified today (Thursday) that the contract, in the amount of $5,488,000 is ready. She said it usually takes five days for them to get the bonds and insurance to her, before the contract is awarded.
Billips said the design on the water filtration plant was done by CDM Smith of Boston. He said the city started working on it in 2016 when the advisory first came out, and Wells 7 and 8 were taken offline. The design has gone through the permit process with the Barnes Aquifer Protection Advisory Committee (BAPAC), the Conservation Commission, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), plus receiving other permits.
“All evidence is that the technology works, and it’s being used in other parts of the country successfully,” Billips said, including communities with much higher contamination levels than Westfield.
“Our focus has always been to get our Westfield drinking water filtered for the residents,” Mayor Sullivan said.

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