Public water utilities across East Texas soon will have to test their water supplies to determine if they contain unsafe levels of potentially carcinogenic chemicals.
The leaders of some of those utilities, however, say they don性视界传媒檛 believe their water will contain high levels of so-called 性视界传媒渇orever chemicals性视界传媒 that are known to cause cancer and other health problems.
The Environmental Protection Agency on April 10 announced a new set of rules aiming to remove per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, better known as PFAS, and five other long-lasting chemicals from the nation性视界传媒檚 public water supplies, making tap water safer to drink and potentially saving lives, the agency said.
The rules require public utilities to test their water for the presence of the chemicals, which are found in various everyday products and are difficult to break down.
Most of the nation性视界传媒檚 water utilities will have three years to begin testing. Utilities that find unsafe levels of the chemicals will have two years to implement treatment systems.
While health and environmental advocates heralded the new rules as a significant step toward improving people性视界传媒檚 health and safety, public water officials across the nation say cities and towns will face significant expenses complying with them 性视界传媒 potentially raising costs for consumers.
What is PFAS contamination?
The term 性视界传媒淧FAS性视界传媒 isn性视界传媒檛 a household name, but it性视界传媒檚 an umbrella term for a family of chemicals used in countless household products 性视界传媒 from nonstick cookware to stain-resistant carpet and food packaging. Through decades of common use, those chemicals have found their way into public water supplies.
The chemicals are present in the blood of nearly all Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The chemicals are bound together by carbon bonds that prevent them from degrading easily or quickly 性视界传媒 hence the term 性视界传媒渇orever chemicals.性视界传媒 They性视界传媒檙e known to cause certain cancers, liver disease, child developmental issues and more, according to the EPA.
Awareness of the chemicals性视界传媒 presence in public water supplies 性视界传媒 and of their effects on human health 性视界传媒 has increased in recent years through news articles, lawsuits and legislative action aiming to reduce the public性视界传媒檚 exposure to them.
The new EPA rules are the first federal requirements to target the substances. In addition to PFAS, the rules require utilities to test for five other types of similar chemicals.
Cost to cities, consumers
Removing PFAS contamination from public water supplies could cost public water utilities significant amounts of money, groups representing municipal water supplies say.
Treatment systems capable of removing PFAS chemicals from water supplies 性视界传媒 such as reverse-osmosis, granulated activated carbon filters and ionic exchange 性视界传媒 are costly to install, said Louis Booth, a wastewater treatment specialist with the Texas Rural Water Association, who has educated public water workers about PFAS and PFOA contamination.
Water utilities will have to remove PFAS if the level of contamination in their water supplies exceeds the EPA性视界传媒檚 maximum allowable level: 4 parts per trillion, the lowest level at which the chemicals can be measured reliably. That性视界传媒檚 about four drops of water in 100 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
American Water Works Association leaders say the implementation of the rules nationwide will cost at least three times more than the $1.5 billion per year the EPA estimates.
Water suppliers with levels of contamination below that level won性视界传媒檛 be required to remove the chemicals. Those that do, however, might be able to get help paying the cost, Booth said.
Lawsuits against 3M and DuPont 性视界传媒 two major manufacturers of PFAS 性视界传媒 could yield billions for municipalities, Booth said. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, passed in 2021, allocated about $9 billion for PFAS cleanup efforts, Booth said.
Still, the cost of removing those contaminants in communities where they性视界传媒檙e found in water supplies could trickle down to consumers, Booth said.
Clay Evers, public works director for the city of Kilgore, told the News-Journal in October that he believes manufacturers of the chemicals 性视界传媒 not cities and their residents 性视界传媒 should be forced to pay for the cost of installing treatment systems.
Will PFAS be a problem here?
While testing has yet to be conducted in several water supplies, some East Texas utility leaders say they性视界传媒檙e not overly concerned that PFAS contamination poses a risk in the region.
Contamination from PFAS could be present in about 45% of the nation性视界传媒檚 water supplies, according to a 2023 report from the U.S. Geological Survey. Yet the number of water utilities that will have to remove those chemicals from their water supplies is likely to be smaller.
The Biden administration expects that between 6 and 10 percent of water utilities will exceed the maximum allowable level of the contaminants.
Cities that use surface water to supply residents likely have higher levels of PFAS contamination than those that use groundwater.
性视界传媒淚n the Metroplex, where you have a lot of industry, I would say the chances are a lot higher,性视界传媒 Booth said. 性视界传媒淭he only way we性视界传媒檙e going to be able to find out is by testing.性视界传媒
Kevin Chumbley, assistant director of public works for the city of Longview, said the city will test its three water sources 性视界传媒 the Sabine River, Lake Cherokee and Lake O性视界传媒 the Pines 性视界传媒 to determine what levels of PFAS or PFOA contamination, if any, are present in each.
性视界传媒淚 wouldn性视界传媒檛 be able to speculate that one性视界传媒檚 worse than the other at this point,性视界传媒 he said.
Dominik Sobieraj, chief operating officer at the Lake O性视界传媒 the Pines water treatment plant 性视界传媒 which supplies water to Avinger, Ore City, Jefferson and North Longview 性视界传媒 said he性视界传媒檚 confident the contamination isn性视界传媒檛 present in the water his plant takes in.
性视界传媒淚 don性视界传媒檛 have them in my system,性视界传媒 he said.
The city of Tyler conducted testing for PFAS in its water supply in 2023, and the results showed that 28 of 29 PFAS chemicals the city tested for weren性视界传媒檛 present. The only chemical found to be present 性视界传媒 perfluoropentanoic acid 性视界传媒 was found at a barely detectable level.
