Cost holding up water filter updates after forever chemicals found in Columbia well water
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The City of Columbia found traces of so-called "forever chemicals" in its water after testing the city well field for the first time.
Columbia Utilities spokesperson Matt Nestor said an enhanced filtration system at the water treatment plant would cost around $47 million, plus an extra $4 million per year in operating costs, according to a 2021 estimate.
"That would require another bond issue, raising people's rates $4 to $6 a month, and those are things that are kind of hard to justify until there's something there that says 'You need to do this,'" Nestor said.
While the chemicals were found in the well water, Nestor said there have been none found in the drinking water, which has been regularly tested since 2018. He said the city's water meets all regulations set by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency.
He said the City has talked with the EPA about setting guidelines for forever chemicals and decided to test its well water to know what it may deal with if such regulations go in place.
Hundreds of products used daily contain PFAs and the chemicals have been linked to illnesses such as cancer and reproductive system problems. PFAs are fluorinated chemicals used in non-stick, stain repellant and waterproofing applications that don't break down naturally.
An upgraded filtration system would enhance cleaning as water moves from the wells through the treatment plant.
Eric Medlock with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' Public Drinking Water Branch said new regulations from the EPA will apply to the amount of forever chemicals in public drinking water.
"From a regulatory standpoint, we're only interested in the water that's going to the customers," Medlock said. "The water that's actually in the wells or the source water can be the worst water imaginable, but if you can treat that down to standard, then it's considered safe for drinking."
Medlock said the proposed rule would set a maximum contaminant level at four parts per trillion.
"To put that in perspective, one part per trillion is about equal to finding one drop of water in the volume of 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools," Medlock said. "So, it's a very small amount that's considered to be harmful."
Nestor said 17 of the city's 18 wells were tested and four had traces of forever chemicals. He said the amounts were barely detectable -- between 2 and 4 parts per trillion. The City received the results last week.
"I don't want to blow it off and say it's a minuscule amount. Any amount of this chemical is harmful," Nestor said. "But it's not an excessive amount at this point."
But Julie Ryan, cofounder of the COMO Safe Water Coalition, said she would like to see the city show more concern.
"We know that these might be at levels that seem pretty low and they might not be found in the actual drinking water that's tested at the plant, we're finding it at the wells, but that tells us that it's there and it tells us that it's something we need to plan for," Ryan said.
She believes the city isn't getting an accurate representation through its pilot testing and needs to look at other consultants to find more affordable price options and other potential solutions.
"The bottom line is the upgrades that are coming to the plant are not going to clean the water effectively, and then we're not preparing for the next few decades of protecting our community from many of these contaminants," Ryan said.
The estimate of $47 million for an upgraded filtration system came from a cost analysis with consultant firm HDR in 2021 as part of the city's water treatment plant improvement process.
