SALISBURY, Md. -- A neighborhood that's been plagued by PFAS, or forever chemicals, is due for a major upgrade. And now, a large investment from the state is helping move the process along.
On Wednesday, Maryland's Board of Public Works approved $4,874,910 for a project that aims to bring clean drinking water to the Naylor Mill Village mobile home park.
"It's going to be awesome for me," said Carlos Morales.
Neighbors like Morales currently rely on well water, and the people WBOC spoke with on Thursday said, for the most part, they have few to no complaints about its quality.
However, PFAS testing tells a different story. One of the neighborhood's wells was taken out of service after testing positive for elevated PFAS levels. The entire community is now reliant on a single well.
Should it break or test positive for elevated PFAS levels, it would leave neighbors without a reliable drinking water source. That's why the City of Salisbury has been pushing to connect the Naylor Mill Village to the city's water system, and with Wednesday's BPW approval, Salisbury is now one step closer to that goal.
"It's an absolute win for the city," said Mayor Randy Taylor.
Neighbors did share some concerns with us on Thursday, the biggest one being a more expensive water bill. Right now, their water bills are lumped into monthly lot payments. If and when the community is connected to the city's water system, that will no longer be the case.
Taylor estimated that quarterly costs will hover around $160.
Janet Hill said it's not an ideal situation, but it's a small price to pay for cleaner water.
"I do believe that the park has our best interest in heart. So, if we were to move in that direction, I feel that it would be a positive," said Hill. "Even though there’s some costs associated, you have to take the good with the bad, and I feel that it would be an improvement."
City leaders say the goal is to finish this project by the end of 2026.