Tiverton Town Council members used their Thursday, August 6 meeting to catalog what they described as breakdowns in the state's handling of PFAS well testing near Crandall Road, including a broken laboratory machine that has stalled results, missing maps, and a shortage of certified labs.
The complaints came during an update from the town administrator and during debate on two spending items, according to the council's published meeting recording. The council approved $120,000 for engineering to extend a water line and up to $25,000 for public outreach, both by voice vote.
A broken machine, and results sitting since July 7
One council member said a resident, not the state, told him that testing had been halted because a state machine was broken. "That should be communicated to you very importantly, pretty quickly, right? And that's going to put a delay," the member said, addressing the administrator.
A woman in the audience said she had been told the equipment was waiting on a part expected the following week, with results possibly by the end of that week. She said the state has held her water sample since July 7. "So, we need other labs. We need other hands in this because they cannot manage it," she said.
Only three certified labs
The administrator said DEM collects the samples and the Rhode Island Department of Health tests them, and that both agencies have told the town there are only three labs in Rhode Island certified for PFAS analysis. Sending samples elsewhere, he said, would cost more and could involve different certification standards that state agencies may not accept.
A council member added that Rhode Island's standard is measured in the aggregate — 20 parts per trillion across a set of PFAS chemicals — which he said could permit higher individual results than federal thresholds of four and 10 parts per trillion. He said the state will eventually have to reconcile its law with final EPA limits.
Council member Craig R. Committo said the practical takeaway for residents is why the town cannot simply shop the samples around. "Standards are standards," he said, describing his understanding of the constraint. Another member noted the worst case: a different lab telling someone the water is safe when it is not.
The administrator said he asked the DEM director, during a prior visit, whether the tests could be expedited and received no response.
Chain of custody questions
Several members questioned the testing process itself. Under the current procedure described at the meeting, a resident signs up online, drives to Providence for vials and instructions, returns home to take the sample, then drives it back to Providence.
Committo said that arrangement invites doubt about results. He said his own water-system technician advised having state personnel take the sample directly to avoid cross-contamination. "If the state is taking it seriously, they should be the ones showing up, taking the samples, and bringing them back to the lab so that we know there is no potential for a false positive," he said. He said the question should be put to state officials at an upcoming community meeting.
The administrator said he has asked the Department of Health to bring test kits to Tiverton to save residents one trip, and that a doctor overseeing the lab wanted assurance about chain of custody. He said the $25,000 would let the town buy roughly $200 tests for residents who fall outside the state's testing zone, starting with those closest to the impacted area and issued in batches of about 20.
The map nobody has seen
Members repeatedly said the town has not received a map showing which properties tested positive and where contamination stops. DEM has one, the administrator said; the town does not hold the records.
"Why haven't we seen a map?" one member asked. Told that the state was concerned about releasing individual homeowners' results, the member responded that the information is already circulating publicly. The general manager of the North Tiverton Fire District Water Department said the state plans to publish a map using ranges rather than individual house results.
The administrator said residents' well results are their own information and that the town cannot distribute them. A resident countered that the release form she signed said her results would be made public. He agreed to review the release, and a resident offered to send it to him.
The administrator also said DEM provided a list of about 21 residents it could not reach by door knock, and that the police department contacted them over the past weekend.
What is next
A community meeting with DEM, the Rhode Island Department of Health and outside PFAS experts is scheduled for Wednesday, August 12, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The administrator said the session will include an information area, presentations, a question-and-answer period, and one-on-one time afterward. He said it will be recorded for residents who cannot attend.
Council members said they intend to raise the broken equipment, the map, well-depth records and the chain-of-custody question at that meeting. DEM was expected back in town the following Tuesday to continue testing.
Residents outside the tested area were reminded that a standard well test does not screen for PFAS. Anyone seeking that analysis must request it specifically.