Emmaus council votes to treat 'forever chemicals' in water instead of purchasing from another water system

May 28, 2023

Reporter

EMMAUS, Pa. - There's a path forward when it comes to the ongoing water woes in Emmaus.

Monday night, council members voted to pay to treat the harmful forever chemicals - commonly found in firefighting foam - which have been detected in borough wells.

Two wells, near the borough's firefighting training facility, have higher levels than the borough's remaining three.

Treatment was chosen in place of purchasing water from a neighboring system or doing a combination of both options: treatment and purchasing.

As it was described at St. Johns United Church of Christ, where borough meetings have been held due to high interest in the issue, the vote is like a path forward and a relief, but there is still a long road ahead.

Officials say the next steps entail up to two years of engineers deciding how to best treat the water, what could be a lengthy permitting process, and building physical infrastructure needed to treat the chemicals.

"We had to send 8,000 gallons of water here and 5,000 there and wait for testing results and wait for sampling results," explained Borough Manager Shane Pepe.

Pepe says, now, it could be up to two more years before the physical infrastructure needed to remediate the PFAS problem, found in the borough's wells, is permitted and built.

"It's a first step," Pepe said. "It's been a long road to get to the first step. I feel a little bit of relief because it's been a year-long study with Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and even longer since finding out the issue was occurring."

Treatment was the overwhelming choice by people who attended Monday night's borough meeting.

"Having control over your own water system supply is not something to be given away," said Anne Keller-Smith. "Our water tastes better than Allentown's, anyways."

Treatment is the most economical option, according to officials, but that doesn't mean the choice doesn't have a hefty price tag.

"$14 to $16 million, so that's a long haul and a high hill," said Pepe.

Pepe says there will also be yearly maintenance costs to consider on top of the upfront investment, and those will depend on how much treatment is needed in each well.

There was a surcharge in residents' water bills this year due to the ongoing water issues; the good news, Pepe says, is they won't be hiked again, at least not for the next year.

"There is funding available and grants, and if we're able to fund the majority of this or maybe all of this -- the upfront capital -- water rates will be affected very little," said the borough manager.

People who are interested in hearing more about the next steps involved in the process are encouraged to attend the borough's General Administration Committee meetings.

They happen the first and third Thursdays of each month at 9 a.m.

More information can be found on the borough's website.

Scroll down for comments if available

Reporter

Get local Breaking News alerts sent directly to your inbox.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

Brand New App to watch all of WFMZ-TV News and Syndicated Programing 24/7 on your Streaming App enabled TV.