ROWLEY – The The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) recently announced the latest round selection of 18 communities in Massachusetts who will share in a more than $10.3 million in federal funding via President Donald J. Trump through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The grants include $1.5 million to the Rowley Water Department where funds are targeted “for piloting, planning and design, and construction of a new water treatment system to remove PFAS from the source water,” according to the Mass. governor’s communication office.
The EPA funds were released to support projects nation-wide where PFAS and manganese are among the list of contaminants that are increasingly impacting water resources. PFAS are a group of harmful man-made chemicals widely used in common consumer products, industrial processes, and in certain firefighting foams. Exposure to sufficiently elevated levels of PFAS compounds can cause a variety of health effects, including developmental effects in infants, impacts to certain organ functions and the immune system, and an elevated cancer risk. Manganese is a naturally occurring element that is present in water, soil, air, and food. While a small amount of manganese is necessary for good health, long-term exposure to high levels in drinking water may have adverse impacts to the human nervous system.
Grants in Massachusetts for this cycle of funding range from $4,700 to $2.3 million.
To date, 46 of the 351 communities in Mass. have been awarded a total of $42.7 million from the Emerging Contaminants (EC) in Small or Disadvantaged Communities Grant (SDC) program.
Don’t Drink Georgetown Water?
Reminder: Last fall, residents of neighboring Georgetown were cautioned to not drink their water if they are pregnant, provide the water to young children, or are concerned about long-term effects resulting in cancer. They are apparently taking actions to mitigate their current processes. ♦
