Isla Public Media KPRG
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

GWA: PFAS project design will cost $12M

Water from a faucet on Guam
Dana Williams/KPRG
Guam Waterworks Authority wants $12 million to design an islandwide water treatment master plan for PFAS chemicals and other emerging contaminants.

Guam Waterworks Authority wants $12 million to design an islandwide water treatment master plan for PFAS chemicals and other emerging contaminants.

At a work session with the Consolidated Commission on Utilities Tuesday morning, GWA Assistant General Manager Brett Railey told commissioners the treatment plan is an urgent priority for the agency.

Railey said once the design work is complete, the agency expects to spend "tens of millions millions installing the treatment that’s designed under this project."

"It will definitely be north of $100 million, closer to $200 million," he said.

The project will treat deep wells, reservoirs, booster pump stations and other potentially newly acquired properties on Guam.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given public water systems a 2029 deadline to implement solutions to reduce PFAS chemicals in the water.

Dana Williams is a KPRG's news director. She previously worked at Voice of America, and she has been an editor with Pacific Daily News on Guam, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in Hawaii and the South Florida Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale.