Raynham Center water rates will go up to run two PFAS treatment plants due by the end of February
The superintendent says trihalomethanes are back under the limit at both test sites, and the 92 parts per trillion PFOA reading came from untreated water at a well off line since 2022.
RAYNHAM Raynham Center Water District customers will see higher water rates and an impact on the water tax rate from two PFAS treatment plants due to run by the end of February, the superintendent said.
The borrowing for construction will have "an impact on the water tax rate," and there will be "an increase in water rates to cover the operational side," Superintendent Jon Chase wrote Tuesday in answers to questions from South Coast 360 News. He did not give a dollar figure for either change.
The two plants, at the district's John P. Lynn and Lake Nip sites, will cost just under $30 million, Chase said. The district got zero-interest loans from the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust along with a little over $3.7 million in principal forgiveness, which brings the amount borrowed down to about $26.3 million, he said.
The plants are built to remove PFAS, a group of long-lasting manufactured chemicals, from wells the district has kept off line, and the district's 2025 water quality report says they will let it use all of its water sources again. A July 2025 notice to customers said the plants would also carry equipment to help lower trihalomethanes, a chlorine byproduct that went over the limit in the district's pipes in 2025.
When the plants will be done
Construction began in August 2024 with an original finish date at the end of December 2026, and the work is slightly behind because of winter weather over the past two winters and long waits for equipment, Chase wrote. "The buildings are done and all the major equipment is in place at both sites," he wrote, adding that the plants should be running by the end of February 2027, with final testing just after. The July 2025 notice had put completion in "late fall 2026."
The state Department of Environmental Protection requires the district to notify customers once the PFAS treatment systems are fully running and when the wells now off line go back into service, Chase said.
Trihalomethanes back under the limit
The district's July 16, 2025, notice told customers that the running annual average of trihalomethanes had reached 83 parts per billion at both of its testing sites, 33 Sandy Hill Road and a site on Pine Street, in the second quarter of 2025, over the limit of 80. The notice said it was not an emergency, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's drinking water database lists it as the district's only violation.
Both sites are under the limit now, Chase wrote. At Sandy Hill Road, the running average was 76 in August 2025 and 69 in August 2026, his figures show, and at the Pine Street site it went from 72 to 63 over the same year.
Both sites sit at the dead ends of water mains, where levels tend to rise in the hotter months when demand goes up and fall in the colder months, Chase wrote. The district samples in February, May, August and November and flushes its pipes, usually in late April and late October, to help keep the levels under the limit. "We will continue to monitor on a quarterly basis and keep the public informed if there are any concerns," he wrote. "We are also working with our consulting engineers to come up with a permanent solution to this problem."
Where the 92 reading came from
The district's 2025 water quality report lists its results from EPA's fifth round of testing for unregulated contaminants, in which PFOA, one of the PFAS chemicals, averaged 17 parts per trillion with a high of 92. Those samples were raw well water taken before treatment, at wells EPA chose, Chase wrote, and the 92 came from Gushee Well No. 3 in August 2025, after a reading of 4 at the same well that February.
That well has been off line since August 2022 because of high PFAS levels and will be treated with carbon filters at the new John P. Lynn plant, he said. The other two wells tested were Lake Nip Well 1B, at zero both times, and the Fountain well, at zero in February 2025 and 5 in August 2025, according to his figures.
"In the short term there are no concerns with the PFAS issue since the affected wells at Lake Nip and the Gushee well #3 are off line," Chase wrote.
The 2025 report says Gushee Well No. 3 and Lake Nip Well No. 2 went over the state's quarterly PFAS limit in August 2022, customers were notified by mail, and levels were back under the limit by September 2022 after water restrictions and taking those wells off line. For 2025, the report lists the state's regulated PFAS measure, PFAS6, at 3 to 25 parts per trillion with a quarterly average of 8, under the state limit of 20, with no violation.
EPA set a limit of 4 parts per trillion for PFOA in April 2024, measured as a running annual average, and water systems have until 2029 to meet it. In May 2026 EPA proposed letting systems ask for two more years, to 2031, and that proposal is not final.
Questions
- Questions about the district's water go to the Raynham Center Water District, 280 Pleasant St., 508-824-0020.
- Questions about the drinking water rules go to MassDEP's Drinking Water Program, program.director-dwp@mass.gov or 617-292-5770, and health questions to the state Department of Public Health, 617-624-5757.
- EPA lists two community water systems in Raynham, and homes served by the North Raynham Water District are not covered by these results. EPA lists no violation for that district.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every fact comes from the Raynham Center Water District's July 16, 2025, public notice and its 2025 water quality report, EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records for the Raynham Center and North Raynham water districts, EPA's PFAS rule page, and Superintendent Jon Chase's emailed answers to our questions on Tuesday, Nov. 10. We read the district and EPA records on Nov. 8 and again on Nov. 10, along with EPA's rule page. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (6)
- Raynham Center Water District, public notice: Elevated Disinfection Byproducts (distributed July 16, 2025)Raynham Center Water District. Second quarter 2025 TTHM running average 83 ug/L at 33 Sandy Hill Rd and the Pine Street site; standard 80; not an emergency; two treatment facilities expected late fall 2026; 508-824-0020. Read Nov. 8 and Nov. 10, 2026.
- Raynham Center Water District, 2025 Consumer Confidence ReportRaynham Center Water District. UCMR 5 PFOA average 17.0, range 0 to 92.0 ng/l; PFAS6 3 to 25, quarterly average 8, MCL 20, no violation; August 2022 Gushee well #3 and Lake Nip well #2 PFAS exceedance and return under the limit by September 2022; treatment systems will allow the district to resume use of all its water sources. Read Nov. 8 and Nov. 10, 2026.
- U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System, violations for Raynham Center Water District (MA4245000)U.S. EPA. One record: TTHM MCL, health based, April to June 2025. Read Nov. 8 and Nov. 10, 2026.
- U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System, violations for North Raynham Water District (MA4245002)U.S. EPA. No records returned. Read Nov. 8 and Nov. 10, 2026.
- U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System, community water systems in RaynhamU.S. EPA. Two active community water systems: Raynham Center Water District (MA4245000) and North Raynham Water District (MA4245002). Read Nov. 8 and Nov. 10, 2026.
- U.S. EPA: Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), final PFAS National Primary Drinking Water RegulationU.S. EPA. PFOA MCL 4.0 ppt announced April 10, 2024; compliance by running annual average; systems have until 2029; May 18, 2026 proposed rule would let systems request two more years, to 2031. Page last updated May 18, 2026. Read Nov. 10, 2026.