'Everyone deserves clean drinking water': Salisbury announces funding for PFAS remediation

Kristian Jaime, Salisbury Daily Times
Updated ·4 min read

The City of Salisbury has announced the approval and full funding of its proposed Naylor Mill Village Mobile Home Park Water System Extension and PFAS remediation project.

PFAS, or "forever chemicals," stands for per-and polyflouroalkyl substances, which are thousands of manufactured chemicals that have been widely used in industry and consumer products since the 1950s. Health risks according to the Environmental Protection Agency include increased cholesterol levels, decreased vaccine response in children, changes in liver enzymes, increased blood pressure or pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, and small decreases in infant birth weights.

The Salisbury Department of Water Works received notification from the Maryland Department of the Environment that the city will receive $4,874,910 in loan principal forgiveness to cover the cost of the project. The project was approved by the Salisbury City Council during a Monday, Dec. 18 work session.

“We are excited to be able to expand our water service to the residents of Naylor Mill Village MHP as well as create a loop that will improve water pressure, redundancy and water quality in other parts of the network as recommended in the June 2016 Water System Master Plan,” said Cori Cameron, director of the Water Works Department.

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A history of elevated contamination in drinking water

The project aims to address the elevated PFAS in the drinking water at Naylor Mill Village Mobile Home Park. They have properties that resist grease, oil, water and heat, and take a long time to break down. According to the Environment Protection Agency, PFAS can build up over time in people, animals and the environment — including public drinking water systems and wells.

"I'm proud we consulted with the director of public works and other members of the city staff to make sure this was the right decision," said D'Shawn Doughty, Salisbury City Council president.

The elevated levels on the site, at the corner of Log Cabin Road and Naylor Mill Road, were discovered during ongoing testing by the state's environmental department of Maryland drinking water for PFAS.

Elevated levels were found in both of the park’s wells, with one testing at more than 100 parts per trillion and leaving the residents of the 52-site community with just one usable well.

In January, the owners of the park officially asked for the city’s help, in partnership with MDE by way of loan forgiveness. The Maryland Water Infrastructure Financing Administration ranked the project ninth in importance out of 122 approved and priority listed projects.

“Everyone deserves clean drinking water,” Mayor Randy Taylor said. “We are happy to extend water services to our neighbors at Naylor Mill and grateful for the state funding which has been provided to do so. An added benefit will be the additional fire protection provided to residents by the upgraded system.”

In addition to the improved drinking water, the expansion will also upgrade the site's water system to include the required 8-inch mains in place of the 2-inch existing mains. The mains are sized to provide fire protection and fire hydrants will be installed at distances to meet the code. Water service will be metered at each individual lot.

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Water contamination in Wicomico County

The U.S. Geological Survey study in Dec. 2021 found widespread PFAS contamination in untreated wells in the state.
The U.S. Geological Survey study in Dec. 2021 found widespread PFAS contamination in untreated wells in the state.

Aside from the Naylor Mill location, Gateway Village Mobile Home Park in Delmar also slightly exceeded PFAS levels.

Gateway Mobile had a reading of 28.20 parts per trillion April 29, 2021, with another of 27.49 parts per trillion May 12, 2021.

According to the report on specific community water systems:

  • Samples that exceed 28 parts per trillion of the contaminants means encouraged yearly monitoring with the results to be reported to the department.

  • Samples that exceed 35 parts per trillion of the contaminants means conducting semi-annual monitoring at the impacted water treatment plant and conducting yearly sampling at other points of entry.

  • Finally, samples exceeding 70 parts per trillion requires issuing a Tier II Public Notification, taking the impacted water treatment plant offline, exploring treatment options or acquiring alternate water sources, and conduct quarterly monitoring.

Naylor Mill had a reading of 36.92 parts per trillion in a sample taken April 14, 2021, with a follow-up reading of 35.73 parts per trillion taken May 12, 2021.

According to the Maryland Department of the Environment, an estimated 75% of all the drinking water in the state has some levels of PFAS.

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This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Salisbury announces funds for drinking water help at mobile home park