HALLOWELL — While long-term plans are underway to eliminate forever chemicals from Hallowell’s public drinking water, some residents say there are hurdles to obtaining clean water in the meantime.

The public water system, the Hallowell Water District, plans to have a $10 million facility constructed by the end of 2027 that would drastically reduce levels of the forever chemicals, or PFAS, in the city’s drinking water to meet new federal regulations.

But before the facility is built, the only PFAS-free source of public water for the Water District’s 912 customers — including restaurants and businesses downtown — is a spigot at the Water District building at 52 Winthrop St., where residents are allowed to fill up with 5 gallons per day.

PFAS, or polyfluoroalkyl substances, are widely used human-made chemicals that can last for decades in the natural environment. The chemicals, discovered by scientists in the 1930s, have been linked to health issues from some kinds of cancer to developmental delays in children.

According to the EPA, no level of exposure to these contaminants — which usually happens through drinking contaminated water — comes without risk of health impacts. PFAS can be found in the blood of most people, many bodies of water and in food products across the world. According to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, nearly 1,000 products sold in Maine in 2023 contain PFAS.

To help mitigate residents’ exposure, the Hallowell Water District installed the PFAS-free spigot at its building on Winthrop Street in April. Zachary Lovely, the superintendent of the water district, said about 15-20 residents use the spigot daily.

But some residents worry that the spigot is only accessible to those with reliable transportation and those who can carry a 5-gallon container of water by themselves. In-home remedies to eliminate PFAS can cost thousands and require consistent monitoring.

During the public comment period of the Hallowell City Council’s June 24 meeting, Hallowell resident Kristin Aiello said she was concerned about the lack of equity in access to clean water in the city. Aiello, a civil rights lawyer, is the wife of at-large Councilor Walter McKee.

“What about the people who can’t get there, the people with disabilities, the people who don’t have transportation?” she said. “Many of us are fortunate — we have access to information, we can learn that this water is not safe and that we need to get (PFAS-free water), but there are people who don’t know that. I would like to see the council be on top of this, frankly. The water is not safe to drink in Hallowell.”

In the following meetings, the Hallowell City Council created $35,000 in funding for a water delivery system to get PFAS-free water to those in the city who cannot travel to the water district building or cannot carry the containers.

But then in July, as part of the council’s more than $500,000 in budget cuts to lower the property tax impact on residents, the delivery program funding was eliminated — leaving the spigot at the Water District as the only way to obtain PFAS-free water without an expensive in-home filtration system.

Ward 3 Councilor Ryan Martin, who resigned from the council in August for personal reasons, proposed the $35,000 for the water delivery service in June, but made the motion to cut it from the budget July 29.

“Obviously, I’m disappointed to see this program go,” Martin said during the meeting. “I was the one that introduced it. The major reason why is because I think we have a duty to make sure all of our residents have access to clean water. Right now, many of them don’t … With that in mind, this is a tough year, and I think we all need to sacrifice things that we care about.”

Ward 4 Councilor Danielle Obery, who also serves on the board of trustees for the Hallowell Water District, said she hasn’t heard any complaints from residents in her ward about the $35,000 being cut for the water delivery service — but has heard dozens of complaints about property taxes.

“We have heard overwhelmingly from our voters that the current budget is unacceptable and that they cannot afford that tax increase,” Obery said. “We hear them loud and clear, I mean, we’re taxing people out of their homes. It’s a lot of money for some. So that is one of the ways that we’re cutting it.”

She said if any of the residents in her district wants PFAS-free water but can’t get to the spigot or carry the water, she would be happy to help.

But, she said, she doesn’t use the spigot herself. Since Hallowell’s PFAS levels are within current state regulations, she said, she is perfectly comfortable drinking Hallowell’s water.

As of the city’s most recent test, Hallowell PFAS levels were at 14.4 parts per trillion — under the state’s 20 parts per trillion regulation but much higher than new EPA limits set to go into effect in 2029. The aquifer Hallowell uses for public water is partially replenished by the PFAS-contaminated Kennebec River, causing its levels to be much higher than nearby communities.

Obery co-wrote a column with the other two members of the Water District’s board of trustees published in the Kennebec Journal in June, arguing “the assertion that (Hallowell Water District) water is unsafe to drink is inaccurate.” The piece was written in response to a column written by Aiello and published in the Kennebec Journal a week earlier, which claimed the city’s water is “unsafe for human consumption” and that the district should be more communicative in its testing and acknowledge the risks of PFAS in the city’s water.

Lovely, the water district superintendent, said he had some concerns about the Water District’s ability to carry out the delivery program before it was eliminated. He said there were potential liability issues with delivering the PFAS-free water, including if the bottle used to transport the water was somehow contaminated during the delivery process.

Lovely also said the district’s staff is likely too small to run a delivery program — with just a 30-hour-per-week office administrator, one full-time operator and Lovely himself, who splits his time between the Hallowell and Gardiner water districts.

“We know (the spigot) is not the best option, but it’s the only alternative we have currently to provide our customers with PFAS-free water until this plant is built,” Lovely said.

Obery, who works for the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, said concerned residents should reach out to the state toxicologist, Andrew Smith, before making any decisions about their water consumption.

“It’s an emerging topic for them, so I think they should get it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak,” Obery said.

She said the city planned to hold an event this month to have Smith speak to residents and answer questions they have about Hallowell’s PFAS levels and their impacts, but no such event has yet been scheduled.

Copy the Story Link