Wayland Select Board advances dual-source water plan with $304,000 engineering vote

WAYLAND — February 26, 2025 — Wayland Select Board advances dual-source water plan with $304,000 engineering vote. The board voted 5-0 on Feb. 26 to authorize Town Manager Michael McCall to execute a contract amendment funding completion of 30 percent design for both an MWRA connection and a new carbon-filtration plant at Happy Hollow. DPW Director Tom Holder told members that state regulators are unlikely to grant an inter-basin transfer permit allowing the town to abandon its wells, and that three of four well fields must close in April 2029 under tightened federal PFAS limits. Former Board of Public Works Chair Clifford Lewis called rejecting the funds "tantamount to taking a very large risk with the town's water supply system." Members also voted 5-0 to recommend the fiscal 2026 omnibus budget and a new energy revolving fund seeded by free-cash project rebates, and 4-0-1 to allow the Zoning Board of Appeals to co-sponsor a pre-order pickup window overlay district article.