Construction begins on new water treatment plant for Braintree, Randolph and Holbrook

BRAINTREE − The idea was the easy part: a regional water treatment plant to replace two outdated facilities serving the residents of three communities.

But putting it into action took much longer. Decades longer.

Officials from Braintree, Randolph and Holbrook, along with state legislators, gathered on a spot near Great Pond under bright, cloudless skies Tuesday morning for a ceremonial groundbreaking. The event marked the construction start of a 12.5-million-gallon-per-day water treatment plant to serve all three communities.

The $122 million plant is scheduled to be in operation in three years, replacing two treatment plants that are more than 80 years old.

"Today, we make history," said Braintree Mayor Charles Kokoros, who chairs the Tri-Town Board of Water Commissioners. "A lot of great collaboration was needed to get to this point."

He said it brought together three communities that were once part of the same town.

Reaching an agreement to build the new plant required working out many issues, some of them contentious, such as long-standing disputes over paying for the tri-town water system as well as those of the Randolph-Holbrook system. Former Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan said there were times he doubted the plant would ever get built.

"This has taken many hands and many years to come together," Sullivan said. "It takes a team to get things done."

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He said there were even conversations about joining the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority system.

Randolph Town Council President William Alexopoulos, the town's tri-town representative, said he has been working on the project for more than 20 years, attending countless meetings and "heated negotiations."

"We never lost sight of the ultimate goal," Alexopoulos said.

Randolph Town Manager Brian Howard said water quality and water pressure have becoming increasingly important issues among the town's residents. He said the filtration system in the new plant will be "state-of-the-art and adaptable" to meet future drinking water requirements.

The new plant will be able to remove the "forever chemical" PFAS from drinking water.

An acronym for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS are man-made chemicals that have been used in a variety of applications since the 1950s, from nonstick cookware and water-resistant clothing to food packaging materials and firefighting foam. They are considered a "forever chemical" because they don't break down and can accumulate in the body.

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The chemicals have been to linked health problems, from weakening the immune system of children, increasing cholesterol levels and causing tumors. They have also been shown to be a health risk for pregnant and nursing mothers.

Braintree recently upgraded its filtration equipment to remove PFAS.

Once water is treated at the new facility in Braintree, some of it will be fed into a pipe that will run under the pond to the existing Randolph-Holbrook treatment plant, which will serve as a pumping station.

Braintree will pay half of the construction cost of the plant. Randolph will pay 34% and Holbrook 16%. Operating costs will be based on water use. The state will lend the district the money needed for construction with no interest. The loans will be repaid through water rates.

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Reach Fred Hanson at fhanson@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Construction underway for tri-town water treatment plant in Braintree