WESTFIELD—Although there are still some hurdles to clear, the new water treatment facility is still on track, according to Water Systems Engineer Heather Miller.
The treatment facility, which will be located on Owen District Road, is at the 100 percent design phase, according to Miller, and though the project is not out for bid yet, it is getting closer. The project is still on track, with the facility expected to be running by summer next year.
A cup is filled with water at a sink (file photo)
According to Miller, there were unspecified items that were preventing the city from going to bid.
“Once we get those last couple of hurdles jumped we can go out to bid,” Miller said.
She would not elaborate on the “specific permitting identifications” that were the encumbrances, but said that the project is “proceeding along as expected.”
Miller said that although the start of construction on the project is undetermined, the goal remains to have the facility operating by peak demand of the city’s water next year. According to Miller, that time is typically in the hottest part of the summer, but can vary, with factors including how much rainfall occurs and how much water is used.
The facility will be utilizing granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration to treat city wells seven and eight for polyfluoroakyl substances (PFAS), which is made up of compounds such as Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). The two wells were taken offline last year after they were found to have levels of PFOA and PFOS above the Environmental Protection Agency’s lifetime advisory limit of 70 parts per trillion (ppt).
