Wayland Finance Committee told dual-source water plan is legally required

WAYLAND — March 31, 2025 — Wayland's dual-source water project is legally mandatory, DPW tells Finance Committee. Board of Public Works Vice Chair George Uveges said the state Interbasin Transfer Act requires Wayland to keep its Happy Hollow well field active because it is "economically and technologically" viable, foreclosing a single-source MWRA option. DPW Director Tom said the town will seek $1.23 million at the April 7 town meeting to continue design — about 40 percent for the MWRA connection, 60 percent for a new granular activated carbon PFAS plant — toward a roughly $35 million total versus $22 million for MWRA alone. Missing a July state-revolving-fund deadline would forfeit a zero-percent, 20-year loan; missing December 2027 would forfeit a $7 million MWRA entrance-fee waiver. Modeled water rates rise about 11 percent annually from fiscal 2026 through 2031 if the enterprise fund carries all capital costs. The DPW will also seek $1.3 million more to upsize a planned second water tank to 750,000 gallons.