Franklin's Hayward Street Treatment Plants Gets $15 Mil Loan From State

The Massachusetts Clean Water Trust’s (the Trust) Board of Trustees approved $123,778,260 in new low-interest loans and grants at its meeting on July 9, 2025, including $15 million for Franklin.

The Trust, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), helps communities build or replace water infrastructure that enhances ground and surface water resources, ensures the safety of drinking water, protects public health and develops resilient communities. It accomplishes these objectives by providing low-interest loans and grants to cities, towns and water utilities through the Massachusetts State Revolving Funds (SRFs). The SRF programs are partnerships between the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. SRFs function like an environmental infrastructure bank by financing water infrastructure projects in cities and towns across the Commonwealth.

Franklin was granted an initial 0% loan (Franklin DWEC-24-96) valued at $15,000,000 for water treatment plant improvements at the Hayward St. plant.

What's it All About?

According Water and Sewer Superintendent, Douglas Martin,  a memo provided to the Town Council back in 2024, when the project was authorized, provides a good summary. According to that document the existing Hayward Street water treatment plant has presented many operational and maintenance issues, which has resulted in high operating costs due to appreciable maintenance, numerous pumping steps through the process, electrical energy usage, chemical requirements, and residuals production. In addition, the existing membranes are approaching the end of their useful life and cannot be replaced in kind as the current model of Koch membranes are now obsolete (i.e., no longer being manufactured), which provides a challenge for staff in having a backup in the event that the membranes fail. Finally, a 2019 chemical fire within the membrane chemical cleaning system at the at the plant represented the latest significant operational and safety challenge of the system.

The Hayward Street WTP improvement project aims to replace the ozone/Koch membrane system with a pressurized media filtration system. This will provide an iron and manganese removal system like that at the Grove Street WTP, which operations staff is familiar with and comfortable operating. In addition, the Project includes a treatment addition for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) , equipped with solar panels on the roof. The PFAS treatment addition features granular activated carbon (GAC) vessels for treatment of water from Wells No. 1, No. 2, No. 2a, and No. 2b. Historically, concentrations of PFAS in the finished water at the Hayward St WTP have been below the MassDEP maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 20 ppt for the 6 regulated PFAS compounds; however, concentrations of Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) have approached the new USEPA MCL of 4 ppt for either compound.

The Town was listed on the 2024 final State Revolving Fund (SRF) intended use plan which will provide funding at a 1.5% interest rate since Franklin is a Housing Choice Community. In addition, since this project will have a PFAS treatment component part of it will be eligible for an interest-free (0%) loan with additional principal loan forgiveness through the SRF program in thanks to the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).