Officials say Millville school water system is under control after treatment upgrades, but long‑term fixes remain costly

The Blackstone‑Millville Regional School Committee heard a technical update on the Millville school’s water system on Dec. 14, as staff outlined recent improvements and remaining options for long‑term compliance.

Dr. Gullick, who prepared the presentation, told the committee the system’s green sand filtration, UV disinfection and corrosion‑control regimen have been effective since the green sand medium was replaced and operators tightened controls. He credited a newly installed remote monitoring system with allowing staff to react faster to fluctuations in manganese and iron and to avoid the heavy chlorine shocks that produced high quarterly averages in February.

"Since October, November and December we've been well below the MCL," the presenter said, summarizing recent DBP (disinfection‑byproduct) test results for haloacetic acids and total trihalomethanes. He described the February event—when new filter media was 'jumpstarted' with a large chlorine dose—that skewed quarterly averages and produced required notices to customers, and he said those spikes have not recurred in recent months because of remote monitoring and adjusted operating procedures.

Committee members pressed for specific next steps if DBP averages rise again. The presenter listed feasible mid‑range options—adding aeration to the storage tank to strip volatile trihalomethanes, installing activated‑carbon vessels, or using ion‑exchange media—as well as the most costly option: building an 8‑inch pipeline to connect Millville to Oxbridge water. He said preliminary engineering estimates for a pipeline connection could reach into the low millions and that MassDEP/EPA grant programs may contribute up to roughly $1 million (amounts and eligibility described as preliminary).

The committee also discussed operator continuity and oversight. Dr. Gullick said McClure (transcript spelling varies) engineering has signed on as the district’s engineer in early December and that a local operator understudy has been training since August. Committee members said they want a documented transition plan so the district is not reliant on a single consultant.

Tensions surfaced when several members criticized public comments Dr. Gullick reportedly made in early December that committee members said characterized earlier local decisions as based on 'bad intel.' One member said the remarks had been 'disrespectful' to local officials; another said they want MassDEP to clarify whether the previous bottled‑water guidance has been formally lifted before moving students back into the building.

Superintendent Jason DeFalco and other staff emphasized that MassDEP (referred to in the meeting as 'Mass D' or 'the D') remains the regulator and that any formal lifting of bottled‑water guidance requires MassDEP confirmation. DeFalco said the district has been providing bottled water since September and that a prior committee vote in August had committed the district to continue bottled water while an order remained in place.

The committee asked administration to obtain written guidance from MassDEP describing the technical criteria for lifting the bottled‑water requirement and to schedule a workshop in January that includes the towns’ select boards and MassDEP representatives so officials can align on data needs and timing. Several members said they expect a multi‑quarter record of stable results before considering a student return, and that the PLC/automatic control hardware being quoted should be installed as soon as feasible to maintain consistent dosing as building occupancy increases.

The presentation also documented programmatic steps the district is taking now to monitor and manage the water system, including ongoing operator coverage, remote monitoring the district purchased, and McClure engineering’s preliminary design work. The district said it will pursue available grant funding and will continue to report quarterly results to the committee.

What’s next: the administration will ask MassDEP to specify the criteria and documentation needed to lift bottled‑water requirements, provide timelines and quotes for the PLC/automatic control installation, and convene an intergovernmental workshop in January to align the select boards, MassDEP and district leaders on the path forward.