$5.5 Million Grant To Build Montco PFAS Water Treatment Facility

HORSHAM, PA — A new water treatment facility designed to battle dangerous PFAS chemicals in the local drinking supply is expected to be constructed thanks to a large, $5.5 million grant secured by water utility Aqua Pennsylvania.

Essential Utilities Inc., which owns subsidiary Aqua PA, announced this week that has received approval from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Authority for a PENNVEST grant to build a treatment facility for two of its Hatboro well stations in Horsham Township.

Treatment at the facility will be designed to eliminate per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances, also referred to as PFAS, which have been found in Pennsylvania's waterways due to widespread industrial activities over the years.

The substances, often referred to as "forever chemicals" due to the duration of time they hang around in the environment, are traced to things like firefighting foams, carpets, clothing, furniture fabrics, paper packaging for food and other materials that are resistant to water, grease and stains.

Essential Utilities said that with the new grant money, Acqua PA will construct new ion exchange contractors and make related well station improvements to accommodate the new treatment at the Horsham stations.

"Aqua Pennsylvania and Essential Utilities have led the way on PFAS remediation in this region, through transparent communication with our customers via WaterFacts.com, a forward-looking action plan for treatment, and setting our own company-wide standard as we await regulatory guidance," Essential Utilities Chairman and CEO Christopher H. Franklin said in a statement. "Just as significantly, we are advocating for our customers by seeking alternate funding for PFAS remediation — from filing suit against the responsible chemical manufacturers, to successfully applying for grants like PENNVEST to minimize the financial burden on our customers."

Patch has covered PFAS issues in Montgomery County and neighboring counties in the past. The issue has been particularly prevalent in Horsham Township, since the community is home to the former Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, with activities on the former base believed to have contributed to some of the PFAS problems.

Check out some of our previous coverage below.

Related: High Levels Of 'Forever Chemicals' Reported Near Base Communities

In announcing the grant this week, Essential Utilities noted that it was the second such funding award from PENNVEST that has been issued to help remediate the PFAS issue in the suburban Philly region.

Two years ago, the company says it received $4.5 million for the construction of a PFAS remediation facility at the North Hills well station in Abington Township, which was voluntarily removed back in 2016 due to PFAS testing results.

The Abington well is expected to be returned to service by the end of this year, the company stated.

Aqua PA President Marc Lucca thanked the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and PENNVEST for their support in helping the water company secured the latest round of grant dollars.

"This helps us to achieve our mission of protecting and providing earth's most essential resource," Lucca said in a statement. "This is an issue of primary importance to us as a drinking water utility and to our broader community, we remain committed to working hard for our customers."

Aqua PA says it began reporting monthly PFAS testing results back in 2016, with the company creating an action plan two years later designed to make investments towards improving communities that were dealing with PFAS in the drinking supply.

The company says that it has thus far invested more than $1 million in equipment to increase laboratory testing capacity, installed granular activated carbon and resin filters on four systems that came back with the highest level of PFAS, conducted engineering evaluations of the Neshaminy water treatment plant and evaluated the effectiveness of the Horsham Air National Guard's treatment system based on contaminant levels in the Neshaminy Creek, and assessed alternative treatment options, including ion exchange resins and other technologies.