HUNTINGTON — A Special Town Meeting is scheduled for Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. in Stanton Hall, 26 Russell Road, to discuss covering the costs for the Basket Street Water Main Extension project. A copy of the warrant is posted at www.huntingtonma.us.
The sole article at the meeting will ask if the town will vote to transfer from available funds or borrow a sum of money for the purpose of funding the Basket Street Water Main Extension Project, including all incidental and related costs, which may be reimbursed through an Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities grant; and to the extent that the appropriation may include monies from the Stabilization Fund, to dedicate any grant funds received to the Stabilization Fund Account.
An informational meeting is scheduled for Feb. 4 from 6-7 p.m. to answer questions in advance of the Special Town Meeting.
Huntington Board of Health Secretary John Bergeron said the water main extension project will hook up residents on Basket Street within a certain distance of a former landfill to town water.
According to Bergeron, the wells in the area of the former landfill are routinely inspected by Huntley & Associates. In April 2025, PFOS was discovered in one well at a level higher than state EPA recommendations. He said in the past, they were not checking for PFOS. “This is a new thing,” he said.
Bergeron said it was only found in one well, but the state is looking at a 500-foot radius to the landfill, which he said would bring in six or eight more homes.
“Until we got them on public water, I was delivering bottled water to them on a regular basis,” Bergeron said.
“It’s not done yet, and it’s costing us a lot of money,” Bergeron said, adding, “Even after this gets done, that’s going to have to be monitored again on a regular basis.”
Bergeron shared that the town is eligible for the Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities (ECSDC) grant referred to in the warrant, but the vote to transfer money from stabilization is necessary because the town is running out of money, and still needs to pay for the work being done, reports and monitoring. He said the Water and Sewer departments are working together on the project.
“It’s something that really had to get done,” Bergeron said.
