LWD Files Federal Lawsuit to Recover PFAS Costs
The Littleton Water Department has filed a lawsuit in court related to the costs incurred to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from its drinking water supply prior to the delivery to customers. LWD routinely tests its water supplies and was forced to build a $20.25 million treatment plant to remove PFAS, a manmade pollutant found in the Spectacle Pond drinking water well.
Additional Information
Littleton’s Drinking Water is Safe. PFAS is Removed Prior to Delivery.
Littleton’s public drinking water is routinely tested and meets all state and federal drinking water standards. The 2025 annual drinking water quality report shows water quality results for all contaminants, including PFAS, were far below the maximum allowable limits.
The 2025 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report is available online or by calling (978) 540-2222 to request a copy.
Statement of LELWD General Manager Nick Lawler:
“We have invested heavily in treatment and monitoring to address this contamination, and as a result our water is and has been safe to drink. But the costs of cleaning up this contamination belong with the companies whose operations caused it, not with our ratepayers.”
Statement of LWD’s Attorney Paul Napoli of Napoli Shkolnik:
“The cost of remediation should fall on those responsible for the contamination, not on Littleton’s residents and businesses. [The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act] exists so that the manufacturers and property owners who put these forever chemicals into the environment pay to clean them up, not the ratepayers left holding the bill. We intend to hold every responsible party at the Swanson Road site to account.”
Background Information
LWD took immediate steps with a short-term and long-term plan to lower PFAS levels. In the short-term, it blended Spectacle Pond well water with Beaver Brook well water to reduce the PFAS levels.
At the same time, LWD embarked on the planning and construction of the $20.25 million Whitcomb Avenue Water Treatment Plant. The plant started removing PFAS from the Spectacle Pond well water in late 2023. Testing shows the treated drinking water from the plant has no traces of PFAS.
In addition to the cost to construct the plant, LWD has borne additional costs in testing and ongoing operations of the plant, including the removal and disposal of PFAS caught in the granular activated carbon filtration system.
In 2019, LWD voluntarily tested its wells for the presence of PFAS. Known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down in the environment, PFAS were found in elevated levels in the Spectacle Pond well. The 2019 tests showed PFAS levels at 28 parts per trillion (ppt). At the time, the maximum allowable limit was 70 ppt, but it has since been lowered by regulators to 20 ppt.