Massachusetts (April 28, 2026) — AECOM, the trusted global infrastructure leader, today announced it was selected by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) to deliver a first-of-its-kind program piloting reduction and destruction technologies for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at municipal wastewater treatment plants (POTWs) across Massachusetts. AECOM, in partnership with CDM Smith, executed eighteen pilot tests on materials and technologies within a compressed timeframe. The program evaluates a range of complementary approaches for PFAS separation and destruction across multiple POTWs, enabling MassDEP to better identify effective, scalable solutions.
“This program reflects a highly innovative approach to tackling PFAS by testing multiple technologies in real-world conditions and across multiple treatment streams,” said Sam Donelson, chief executive of AECOM’s U.S. East and Latin America region. “Our team was built to rapidly deploy these pilots while maintaining a rigorous, research-level evaluation, helping accelerate the path toward reliable, long-term treatment solutions.”
Municipal POTWs treat wastewater from communities, yet PFAS from domestic and commercial sources often pass through these facilities untreated. Through this program, AECOM leads multiple pilot studies evaluating a range of emerging PFAS treatment and destruction technologies across liquid, solid, and air process streams. The effort will generate critical performance data to better understand how PFAS behave in treatment processes, including their fate across pilot process inputs and outputs, and how they can be reduced or eliminated from effluent and biosolids.
“PFAS present one of the most complex water challenges facing communities today, and we are committed to advancing practical solutions that help reduce their spread in the environment,” said Doug Gove, Regional Business Line Leader for U.S. East Water, North at AECOM. “By combining our deep expertise in municipal wastewater treatment with our global PFAS capabilities, we are proud to support MassDEP in piloting innovative technologies that have the potential to be scaled to deliver meaningful impact.”
Using a multi-technology, multi-site approach, the program will simultaneously evaluate several treatment solutions at different POTWs, providing insights into technology performance, operational feasibility, and applicability across diverse waste streams. The results are expected to help inform future decision-making for utilities in Massachusetts and beyond seeking effective, scalable PFAS solutions.
PFAS are a diverse group of synthetic chemicals widely used in industrial and commercial applications that are resistant to breakdown and increasingly subject to regulatory scrutiny. By advancing understanding of available treatment technologies in municipal wastewater systems, AECOM is helping communities identify effective strategies to protect water resources with the goal of improving environmental and public health outcomes.
About AECOM
AECOM is the global infrastructure leader, committed to delivering a better world. As a trusted professional services firm powered by deep technical abilities, we solve our clients’ complex challenges in water, environment, energy, transportation and buildings. Our teams partner with public- and private-sector clients to create innovative, sustainable and resilient solutions throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm that had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. Learn more at aecom.com.