Federal proposal could impact Columbia Water utilities if passed: ‘We’re going to protect public health’ - WIS News 10

Federal proposal could impact Columbia Water utilities if passed: ‘We’re going to protect public health’

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a new regulatory standard that could fundamentally change the way drinking water is filtered and maintained.

The federal proposal seeks to limit the amount of perfluorinated compounds, or “forever chemicals,” detectable in tap water across the nation.

According to local health officials, the toxic chemical type is washed into water supplies from consumer products such as food packaging, cosmetics, dental floss, and non-stick cookware.

The EPA assumes that 20% of our exposure to forever chemicals comes from drinking water. The federal agency reports that a lifetime of exposure can be cancerous.

The EPA measures forever chemicals in water supply by part per trillion (PPT); one drop of the compound in every one trillionth drop of water.

The regulation, proposed on March 14, seeks to limit no more than 4 PPTs from water supplies nationally. Up until last year, 70 PPT used to be the acceptable value of forever chemicals in drinking water.

“Remember, there’s a suite of about 9,000 of these compounds that are out there. The EPA is saying, ‘look at just a handful right now and regulate those.’ We would like to get that suite of 9,000 compounds regulated at the source,” said Clint Shealy, Assistant City Manager for Columbia Water.

Shealy said the EPA has grossly underestimated the investment needed to meet the proposed regulatory standard. He feels more human health research is needed before the utility provider invests millions of capital dollars in new equipment.

Shealy said Columbia Water’s treatment plan on Laurel St. detected an average of 6.2 PPT of Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS) and 5.1 PPT of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) from 2020 to the present.

The Lake Murray water treatment plant detected an average not exceeding the newly proposed limit of 4 PPT during the same period.

If the proposed standard is passed, Columbia Water anticipates an investment that could exceed $100 million in order to remove the contaminants. Worst case scenario, a double-digit rate increases on utility bills within the next three to five years.

“I don’t want to scare our customers because we believe there may be some technologies out there where we could get to the proposed level a little more affordably. So, we’re going to leave no stone unturned to try and find those and make sure we don’t impact affordability of our water... I just want our customers to know that we’re going to do what’s necessary to make sure their drinking water continues to be safe,” continued Shealy.

Shealy emphasized that Columbia Water still meets every regulatory standard and then some. Shealy told WIS the utility provider is already spending money to study cost-effective solutions in the event they have to meet the proposed level. We’re told the ongoing studies will not impact ratepayers.

EPA’s regulation could be finalized by the end of this calendar year, a goal that is considered ambitious by local health officials.

Ways to reduce exposure to forever chemicals can be found on DHEC’s website. You can find the EPA’s landing page on forever chemicals by clicking here.

“If this standard becomes final, we’ll meet that, as well. We’re in the public health protection business, we do it every day... We’d like to hold the folks that are responsible more accountable so that our ratepayers don’t have to pay the burden if we do have to make improvements,” concluded Shealy.

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