Note: This story has been revised and updated. See further details at the end.
In quarterly tests since early 2021, the amount of “forever chemical” contaminants in the drinking water produced by the Fayetteville Public Works Commission exceeded newly established limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency in the spring.
Since the EPA did not set a standard until April of this year for these contaminants, known as PFAS chemicals, the PWC was not in violation of EPA regulations. And the EPA is giving public utilities until 2029 to comply. To meet that deadline and come into compliance with the federal regulations, the PWC plans to spend $80 million to build PFAS filtration systems at its two water treatment plants.
The newly established EPA limit for two types of PFAS chemicals, known as PFOA and PFOS, is 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for each chemical. The PWC takes water samples quarterly to look for PFAS substances. Since the contamination levels in the quarterly samples vary, Water Resources Chief Operations Officer Mick Noland said, the new EPA standards will be applied to running averages of the four most recent quarterly samples instead of individual samples.
The PWC has two water treatment plants: the P.O. Hoffer plant and the Glenville Lake plant. According to the PWC’s website, between January 2021 and January 2024:
- The running average of PFOA at the Hoffer plant ranged from 4.27 ppt to 6.62 ppt, vs. the EPA’s upcoming 4 ppt standard.
- PFOS running averages at the Hoffer plant were from 8.10 ppt to 11.97 ppt.
- At the Glenville Lake plant, PFOA averages were from 4.61 ppt to 6.08 ppt.
- PFOS running averages at Glenville Lake were from 12.26 ppt to 24.23 ppt.
In addition to checking PFOA and PFOS levels, the PWC tests for a mixture of four other PFAS chemicals and reports how they rate on an EPA Hazard Index. The data is used in a formula in which the goal is to score below a level of 1 in the Hazard Index.
Water from the Hoffer plant had running averages of 0.41 to 0.66 on the Hazard Index, vs. the goal of scoring below 1.00.
The Glenville Lake plant’s water had running averages of 1.13 to 1.88 on the Hazard Index.
Health risks from forever chemicals
Studies have found that exposure to PFAS chemicals is associated with increased risk of a number of health hazards. The chemicals have been widely used in consumer and industrial products for decades, and researchers have found them widespread in the environment. They are known as “forever chemicals” because they are extremely slow to break down.
In southeastern North Carolina from Fayetteville to Wilmington, PFAS chemicals have been at the center of controversy since it was made public in 2017 that the Chemours Co. chemical factory south of Fayetteville had been discharging a form of PFAS called GenX into the Cape Fear River and the atmosphere for years. The company has since stopped, but PFAS has been found in drinking water wells around the factory. Chemours and its predecessor, DuPont, are being sued because of the contamination.
The PWC’s water intake on the Cape Fear River is more than 20 miles upstream of the Chemours plant.
The PWC is the city-owned water, sewer and electric utility for Fayetteville and surrounding areas. Its website says that in 2023, the PWC supplied water to more than 225,000 people among nearly 93,000 households, businesses and other customers. The PWC’s water quality also affects the soldiers and civilians who live and work at Fort Liberty, as Fort Liberty gets some of its drinking water from the utility.
“PWC’s top priority will continue to be providing drinking water that meets or exceeds all EPA regulatory requirements and we are committed to continued advocacy to prevent PFAS from being discharged into our source water so that we can eliminate the exposure and financial burden for our customers,” PWC spokesman Gavin MacRoberts said in an email to CityView. “It has been well reported that the predominant source of emerging compounds is the use of/and manufacturing of products including cosmetics, shampoos, paints, food packaging, cleaning, stain and stick resistance products.”
The PWC publishes its PFAS data on its website. Some of its drinking water is produced at the P.O. Hoffer Water Treatment Facility on the Cape Fear River, and some comes from the Glenville Lake Water Treatment Facility on Filter Plant Drive between Murchison Road and Bragg Boulevard.
Costly filter systems coming soon
The PWC has budgeted $80 million to build PFAS filtration systems at the city’s two water treatment plants, MacRoberts said. The systems are expected to be operational by February 2028, he said.
The PWC’s customers, through their water bills, will pay the cost of building the PFAS filter systems, though by how much remains to be determined. To blunt that expense, MacRoberts said, the PWC has won $11.5 million in grants and a $19 million low-interest loan. The utility is seeking more federal and state money for the project, he said.
While it waits for the new filter systems to come online, MacRoberts said, the PWC is upgrading an existing filtration system so that it “can effectively remove modest amounts of PFAS.” This upgrade is to be running by April 2026, he said.
As public utilities across the state deal with the multi-million dollar expense of installing PFAS filtration infrastructure, the North Carolina General Assembly is considering whether to pass a law to help them. The legislation would require the companies that cause PFAS contamination in public water systems to pay for the costs the utilities incur to remove the contaminants.
Dioxane — it’s in the water, and can’t be removed
In addition to publishing PFAS sample results on its website, the PWC published the results this month in an annual water quality report that the North Carolina Dept. of Environmental Quality requires public water systems to provide.
The water quality report says the Cape Fear River contains 1,4-Dioxane, a manufacturing solvent, and so does the water that is being sent to the PWC’s customers.
“While 1,4-Dioxane has been detected in the Cape Fear River as well as other areas in our region, state and nation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) currently has no standards for 1,4-Dioxane and has not yet issued regulated safe limits,” it says. “If the EPA believed 1,4-Dioxane was an immediate threat, a directive would have been issued. Since 1,4-Dioxane cannot be removed through our traditional water treatment process, we have partnered with other communities to research and identify its sources to reduce or eliminate it so there will be no long-term exposure to our customers.”
The EPA said exposure to 1,4-Dioxane poses risk for harming the liver, can cause cancer, and cause other health problems.
The PWC’s report says in 12 tests made throughout 2023, eight tests found the public utility’s water had so little 1,4-Dioxane that it couldn’t be measured. Four other times, from August to December, the amounts ranged from 0.49 parts per billion to 0.75 parts per billion.
The EPA recommends that people receive no more than 35 parts per billion in their lifetimes, the report says.
Other things in the water
“Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk,” the report says.
The PWC’s lab tests for 118 elements and contaminants annually that are regulated by the EPA, MacRoberts said, and the drinking water met all of the EPA’s requirements.
Some of the data from the testing:
- E. coli bacteria in the PWC’s water sources were removed by the utility’s disinfectant and treatment processes. Most E. coli are harmless, and live in the intestines of people and animals, the EPA says, but some can cause illness.
- Enterococci bacteria in the PWC’s water sources were removed by the disinfectant and treatment processes. The EPA says enterococci live in the intestines and are harmless, but if they are found, they can be a clue that other, harmful microorganisms could be present.
- The water had 0.693 milligrams per liter of fluoride, vs. a limit of 4 milligrams per liter. The PWC puts fluoride in the water because fluoride protects people’s teeth from cavities.
- No copper or lead was detected. Both can be harmful to human health.
- Disinfectants to kill microbes were detected at levels safe for human consumption.
NOTES:
- This report has been updated to correct an error. The PWC found E. coli bacteria and enterococci bacteria in its water sources, but following treatment, none of these bacteria were found in the water in the distribution system to people’s homes and businesses. CityView apologizes for this error.
- The headline and portions of this article about PFAS chemicals in the PWC’s water have been significantly revised. They were revised because they were based on a chart in the PWC’s annual water quality report that contains an error. The revised article now cites PFAS data published on the PWC’s website.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
This story was made possible by contributions to CityView News Fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy.
Sad that we can’t drink the water that we pay for, so we have to pay for clean drinking water. It disgusts me that these companies do not care about the health issues they cause to people.
It’s all about $.