Washington, DC
Congressmen John W. Olver (D-1st District) and Richard E. Neal (D-2nd District) announced that the U. S. House of Representatives has approved a funding bill that includes $500,000 for the construction of a new water treatment facility that will serve Northampton and Williamsburg.
The funding was included in the fiscal year 2007 Interior, Environment Appropriations bill. Olver is a member of the Interior, Environment Appropriations Subcommittee and worked with Neal to secure the funding.
“It is essential that people in western Massachusetts have safe and reliable sources of drinking water,” Congressman Neal said. “These federal dollars will help build a new water treatment plant that will serve the citizens of Northampton. This new facility, which will be located in Williamsburg, will ensure that appropriate water quality standards are being met.”
“This federal funding will mitigate the impact of this federally-mandated project on private citizens,” Congressman Olver said. “The new water treatment plant will be a regional resource for drinking water which is of high quality and compliant with stricter federal regulations.”
The city of Northampton currently operates an unfiltered public water system, using three surface reservoirs as its water source. Chlorination is the principal method for disinfecting the drinking water supply. However, disinfection byproducts have been found to exceed the limits set under the federal Surface Water Treatment Rules and the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is requiring the city to construct a water treatment plant to filter its drinking water.
Northampton will build the facility in the town of Williamsburg, adjacent to the Mountain Street Reservoir. The new plant will be capable of filtering over 4 million gallons of water per day and lessen the need for secondary treatment, such as chlorination.
In addition, the new plant will provide a backup water supply to Williamsburg. Because Williamsburg relies on public wells for most of its drinking water and does not have an alternative supply should any of those wells become contaminated, the state DEP is requiring the town to have a backup source. The new plant was designed to produce an amount in excess of Northampton’s requirements and can easily supply Williamsburg with the emergency water it needs, at minimal cost.
