As Tiverton officials continue to deal with the contamination of private wells with “forever chemicals”, commonly known as PFAS, federal officials are working with the town to see what assistance they can provide.

Tiverton officials recently met with representatives from the Department of Environmental Management (DEM), the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH), and Congressman Gabe Amo to discuss next steps for the town regarding PFAS contamination in local wells along Crandall Road and surrounding streets. Alongside Amo were other federal workers, including Chris Lyon, a representative from the USDA’s rural division, to discuss potential grants for the town.

At the Sept. 8 meeting, Amo asked town officials what could be done at the federal level regarding funding, as well as for a better understanding of the scope of the problem.

Town planner Chris Spencer explained that the biggest concern right now is getting water to residents whose PFAS levels are above 1600 parts per trillion (ppt), which is considered untreatable. Spencer estimated that nine homes in the contaminated area are currently above that line.

DEM engineer Kirsten Nunn, who described some of the PFAS levels as the highest the DEM has ever seen in the state, gave updates on the testing, explaining that, as of Sept. 1, 150 homes in the Crandall Road area have been examined, with over 70 exceeding the state standard limit of 20 ppt. 30 homes have not had their results come back yet. She also expressed a need for more manpower at the department, while also mentioning that boundaries for testing are being set, and that they are in contact with officials in Massachusetts regarding testing on wells on the Fall River line.

“I don’t think any of us realized the scope of what this crisis was going to be,” town administrator Patrick Jones added on the severity of the contamination in town.

Jones also told Amo that private wells need to be tested throughout the state and asked the congressman to be an advocate for testing, using the town as an example of both what to do and what can be done differently. Jones also added that the town's website is being constantly updated with new information in order to keep the information flowing to residents.

North Tiverton Fire District chairman Bob Ouellette, who described people's homes as their “biggest asset,” said that the district is currently making a plan to get contaminated residents up to a public water source as soon as possible. However, funding will be needed.

“We can run services to all those houses, but we need to make sure the infrastructure is updated enough so we don't have this same problem in 5 to 10 years.”

Ouellette and Jones both mentioned that the goal is to have the project moving before winter comes and the ground freezes.

Chris Lyon said that the best way for the town to get funding could be federally.

“The only problem is that it takes a lot of time,” he said. “You could propose an item and it could take three years.”

Lyon also said the PFAS situation has set off a “five alarm fire” for the federal authorities and that, despite traditional federal delays, they are working as quickly as they can to get grants to the state. This includes looking at grants through the USDA’s housing and water programs, as well as other partners to help with the issue. 

“We will have RCAP (Rural Community Assistance Program) talk to you and maybe even the folks at Rhode Island Rural Water talk to you about giving you some assistance and maybe helping on this project,” he said. “And [Amo] would ask about some of our other programs.”

Lyon specifically mentioned the USDA’s water and environmental program, which has grant money put in it. Currently, they are working on getting a $1 million loan to Tiverton to fight the issue.

Amo said that he plans on talking with Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse about advocating for money to be sent federally as well, saying that he will continue to advocate for funding for the town “until Congress gets its act together”.

“I think that it’s important that they know as much about what’s going on as well,” he said.