A new town water system that does not rely on private wells could be on the way to north end residents, but it will take time and money.

The Tiverton Town Council recently voted in favor of allocating $120,000 to begin the process of extending the North Tiverton Fire District's water lines through Crandall Road and into surrounding streets, including Cala Avenue, Otocki Lane, Fernandes Avenue, and Bolduc Lane, to get water to residents affected by “forever chemicals,” commonly referred to as PFAS, in their drinking water. Many residents in the area have PFAs levels many times higher than the standard.

Town administrator Patrick Jones said that the $120,000 expenditure is only the beginning of the town's process of fixing this issue and that the town will be filing for grants from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) to help with the work.

“The whole water project will run into the millions,” Jones said Thursday morning of the anticipated cost, adding that the project will continue into next year.

According to North Tiverton Fire District general manager Bob Ouellette, the funds, if secured, will go toward the engineering needed to draw up a plan for the water lines, as well as a study to see if the fire district had enough water to serve an influx of new customers.

“Whether or not we have the capacity or not, we’re moving forward with feeding these houses,” Ouellette said.

The North Tiverton Fire District serves 3,292 properties comprising approximately 7,600 residents. While the number of new homes that would be added to the fire district is not currently known, the DEM, as of Aug. 12, had sampled 113 homes in the area that would receive the water lines, with more testing coming.

What are the experts saying?

DEM and the Rhode Island Department of Health officials recommend not consuming any water over 20 parts per trillion PPTs of PFAS. As of last Wednesday, the DEM had received results from 61 of homes tested in the area, and more than half — 34 — came in above 20 PPTs. The DEM also identified five homes on upper Crandall Road, near Tiverton Fire Station 3,  and side streets Otocki Lane and Fernandes Avenue as having PFAS levels over 1,600 PPTs, which they referred to as “above treatable” levels.

Currently, the town is focused on utilizing water filtration methods for wells below 1600 PPTs of PFAS and distributing water to all affected residents.

Colleen Gillis, who lives in that area, questioned what residents with PFAS levels above 1600 PPTs should do. DEM officials responded that going with bottled water would be the best option for residents in those areas.

Another affected resident, Tricia McGowan, was also upset about residents not having adequate water yet despite town efforts to distribute it to all affefted. McGowan mentioned that she could not get water filtration due to her PFAS level of 1,740 PPTs and said she is still not sure about whether the water is safe to bathe in, despite experts saying it is, as there is still not a lot of research on the topic. As of right now, she is not using any of the water from her well.

“I’m not waiting a year and a half for a water line,” she said, after which she referred to two other homes in the area. “Those two houses need water yesterday.”

Free showers, water delivered

Town officials and volunteers began delivering cases of bottled water to affected residents on Sunday.

Town councilor David Paull described it as a team effort, with his only regret being that they were not able to get water out sooner.

“Our community needed us over a month ago,” he said after the fact, in an email to the Times. “It was a success and the recipients, so far, have been extremely grateful.”

Meanwhile, residents still concerned about showering can go to the Longplex Family Fun Center, which has opened up its doors to residents in the affected area for the foreseeable future.

According to Longplex general manager Justin Long, the business got word after residents had raised concerns with town council members about showering in their homes.

“If you don’t want to drink it, I wouldn’t want to shower in it either,” Long said.

Long said the business received a list of names that were interested from Jones and have printed out “shower passes” which resemble membership cards and allow residents to use the building's shower facilities for free until their own systems are clear. Residents just have to show the cards to the front desk worker and they will be allowed to use the shower.

“Anybody who needs to use the service reaches out to the town administrator and he’ll email us a list. If we get new names, we’ll just make new cards,” Long said.