Calhoun Water | Gordon Gazette

Utilities, engineering firm give water update at latest City Council meeting

By: BRANDI OWCZARZ | Gazette Owner-Publisher
Tuesday, April 23, 2024

WTPs Service Area by Plant- PFAS_edited.jpg

The map that shows the areas each water treatment facility services.
The yellow area is the Brittany Drive Water Treatment Plant; the pink
is the Mauldin Road Water Treatment Plant.

At the Monday night, April 22 meeting of the Calhoun City Council, updates were given on the City’s issue with PFAS water contamination.

As the Gazette has previously reported, the City of Calhoun is being sued in both Superior Court and in Federal Court due to alleged PFAS contamination in the water supply through the dumping of sludge on various properties throughout Gordon County. You can read about the situation in the stories below.

PFAS is an umbrella term used to describe extremely resistant fluorocarbon compounds. The unique chemical bond between fluorine and carbon provides useful properties oil, grease, stain and water resistance. PFAS chemicals have been used to impart these properties on products like carpet, textiles, food packaging and clothing items. Nicknamed “Forever Chemicals,” PFAS do not breakdown naturally and tend to build up in plants, animals and humans overtime. Due to its long history of production and pathways into the environment, low-level background concentrations of PFAS compounds have been found around the world. These background concentrations vary depending on the local environment and oftentimes the proximity to industries that used PFAS in their manufacturing operations. The primary concern is that chronic ingestion of PFAS compounds can lead to debilitating or deadly health effects such as cancer, immune system compromises, hormone imbalances, kidney disease, nervous system effects and reproductive issues.

City Water and Sewer Director Erik Henson gave updates that have happened since the April 9, 2024 meeting.

“There have been a couple of significant events to inform our customers about,” said Henson. “The EPA released Maximum Contaminate Levels (MCL) for six PFAS compounds less than two weeks ago. With the release of the MCL for these compounds, communities will have three years to complete initial testing and an additional two years to modify their water treatment plants. This may seem like a daunting task, but Calhoun Utilities is in a great position to design and implement permanent plant modifications to meet the federal deadline."

On April 10, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formally announced its final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for six PFAS, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA, also known as Gen-X), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS).

The new MCL by the EPA will now require the following enforceable levels for the six PFAS:

PFOA final MCL to be 4.0 parts per trillion (ppt)
PFOS final MCL to be 4.0 ppt
PFHxS final MCL to be 10 ppt
PFNA final MCL to be 10 ppt
HFPO-DA (commonly known as GenX Chemicals) to be 10 ppt
Mixtures containing two or more PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA and PFBS to be 1 (unitless).

General requirements put in place by the EPA are 3 years to Complete Initial Monitoring (2027) quarterly for 12 months and twice per 12 months for small groundwater systems; 5 years to Implement Solutions (2029). Public Notifications for violations will begin in 2029.

“As I mentioned in our last Council meeting, we have installed additional GAC (Granular Activated Carbon) at the Brittany Drive Water Treatment Plant, so that all of our water treatment produced can be filtered by the GAC to remove PFAS from our drinking water,” said Henson. “I’m excited to report that the test results collected after the additional GAC was installed showed that all PFAS compounds recently received at MCL and individually at MCL were below reportable levels. As a result of the test results received, free drinking water will be provided to residents who did not have access to water produced from the Brittany Drive Water Treatment Plant and families that may be on wells. Access to this water will be from a spigot found near the entrance of this facility and is identified by a nearby sign. This sign will read ‘POTABLE WATER.’ I want to note that during increased summer demand, it is possible that PFAS levels may become detectable due to the reduction in contact time through the GAC filters, however the levels will be consistently lower than they have been during such periods.”

“We are still waiting approval on results from the Mauldin Road Water Treatment Plant since the GAC has been installed there,” said Henson. “Once these filters are determined to be hydraulically acceptable, we will begin the procurement process to install GAC in the remaining filters at this facility. Once this has been completed, the levels of PFAS in the water leaving this facility should be drastically reduced.”

Henson said that there will be an update on the City’s website on Tuesday, April 23. You can find that at https://www.cityofcalhoun-ga.com/

“There will be an update with additional information and a map of each plant’s service area,” said Henson. “This plant will help customers identify which water treatment plant serves them. It’s possible that a few roads may not be portrayed correctly, but the map should be approximately 99 percent correct. The latest testing results will also be displayed on our website.

Henson then introduced Bryan Pate, CEO and principal engineer with InSite Engineering (https://insiteengineering.org/). InSite is the firm that Calhoun Utilities selected to evaluate the design and help implement permanent plant modifications focused on removing PFAS in Calhoun’s drinking water.

According to their website, InSite Engineering specializes in helping utilities and industrial clients navigate compliance with changing PFAS regulations imposed by the EPA. InSite Engineering designed and engineered a comprehensive solution for the West Morgan-East Lawrence Water Authority’s (WMEL) Robert M. Hames Water Treatment Plant, which the Water Desalination Report called “the world’s largest PFAS mitigation project.”

Henson said Pate is one of the leading experts on PFAS and that Insite has been involved in removing PFAS from drinking water since 2009.

Pate spoke concerning the status of Calhoun’s water treatment facilities and gave additional information on PFAS.

“We’ve been involved in removing PFAS from drinking water for almost 15 years now, so this is not new to us,” said Pate. “The focus here has always on public health. (Calhoun Utilities) is great; a lot of professionals who work very hard to protect public health and our job is to help them do that.”

Pate said the timing of his presentation is appropriate coming right after the announcement of the EPA’s announcement of the new rule establishing legally enforceable levels for the six PFAS that Henson had mentioned in his update.

“We’re getting question after question from our customers and the public,” said Pate. “’What does the new MCL mean? How do we as consumers deal with this?’ So I’m going to address a lot of the questions for you tonight.”

Pate said that there were no real surprises in the EPA’s update from a couple of weeks ago since his company has been tracking the issues for so long.

“There were no real surprises in that to us; there were a few compounds that came out but nothing real crazy,” said Pate.

Pate then gave an update on the Calhoun plants.

“The Brittany Drive Plant, where the carbon has been installed, meets the current MCLs today,” said Pate. “The plant is doing great with the carbon installed. We know that’s a temporary solution but it’s got us there right now. Mauldin Road is in good shape for three of the recently regulated compounds as well as the Hazard Index. For PFOA and PFOS, we are still above the proposed MCL today but by the time the MCL becomes effective, we will be in compliance of that.”

Pate said that the big question is, if there’s an MCL out and it’s not effective for five years, can the public drink the water?

According to Pate’s presentation, the EPA estimates that between about six percent and 10 percent of the 66,000 public drinking water systems subject to this rule may have to take action to reduce PFAS to meet the new standards. The EPA is recommending the public to contact their local water utility to find out more about their drinking water, including what contaminants may be present, if they are monitoring PFAS and what levels the levels are, and to see whether any actions are taking place.

“If you dig a little deeper (on their website), there’s another rule called the ‘Unregulated Contaminate Monitoring Rule.’ That’s a rule where water systems have to sample for contaminates that aren’t regulated; we do this all the time,” said Pate. “And just in the results from PFAS (studies),we are already at over 16 percent of the systems in the country that don’t comply with the proposed new MCLs. So what I want you to take away from that is, this is not a Calhoun issue, this is not a Northwest Georgia issue. This is a nation-wide issue that’s being addressed by many, many systems across the country. You’re one of them, and you happen to be on the very front leading edge.”

“As we go back to the question, ‘Can I drink my water?’ EPA sets the MCLs, EPA employees the toxicologists, EPA employees the chemists, yet the answer from the EPA is ‘contact your local water utility and ask them,” said Pate. “These guys (at the local utilities) work hard to do the best they can to protect all of y’all; they comply with all the laws that are in affect. But EPA is putting that answer back on them.

“So we carried this a little further with a webinar we had with EPA a few months ago,” continued Pate. “And we asked EPA this very direct question: if one of our customers (water utilities) has a PFAS detection in their drinking water, should they tell their customers (water consumers) that they should not drink their drinking water? I’m not a chemist or a toxicologist; Erik (Henson) is not a chemist or a toxicologist. EPA is full of them. So we asked a very direct question: should we tell our customers not to drink the water? They bantered that around for a while then we followed that up with, ‘just give a Yes or No. I don’t need a long answer. I just need to know.’ (The EPA representative) came back that the EPA is not recommending that utilities tell their customers not to drink the water. So that’s from EPA directly. There’s nowhere that they have directed anyone to say ‘don’t drink my water’ if they have a PFAS above the MCL. That hopefully makes you feel a little bit better about where EPA stands with that. We had to pry to get that answer from them; it’s not out there for the public on their website.”

Pate then told the public that both of Calhoun’s facilities are in the beginning stage of a pilot study.

“We are evaluating the technologies that will be a long-term, permanent solution to PFAS removal from Calhoun’s water supply,” said Pate. “What EPA calls their best available technologies, granular activated carbon, ion (anion) exchange and reverse osmosis, we’ve been piloting and testing those for years. They each have certain applications where they work better than others. We are testing each of those at Mauldin Road Plant right now; when we finish the testing at Mauldin Road we will move that to Brittany Drive and do the same testing there. We are also testing three other technologies to make sure that we’re chasing the most economical way to protect public health and get these compounds out of the water. We are going to try to use every combination we can to find the correct solution for Calhoun.”

Pate also brought up whether PFAS are found in the water pipes after the water is cleared.

“A common question we get is ‘If we fix the water treatment plant, what about the PFAS in the pipes?’” said Pate. “We’ve still got the distribution system from the plant that comes to everybody’s home. What about the PFAS in the pipes? We put a reverse osmosis plant online in 2021; it’s been online for three years now and it’s been making non-detectable levels of PFAS for three years. But when I got asked this question by one of the residents, my heart sank a little bit. I thought, ‘Oh no, what if we did this job but they still have PFAS in the pipes?” So we tested and the resident tested her house as well. When you back up and think about it, PFAS is designed to not stick to anything. It’s a manmade compound; it’s the Scotchgard in the carpet, it’s the stain guards, it’s the Teflon and by definition, it doesn’t stick. So, once we put the clean water in the pipes, the PFAS flushes out and the pipes are clean. We have performed testing that proves that, full scale live system. The system flushes itself out as soon as we get the clean water coming in. It’s a relief to know that everybody will be drinking water with non-detectable levels of PFAS once we get the permanent solutions.”

Pate said another question commonly asked is if the public should just drink bottled water. He presented a study performed by Consumer Reports that shows 19 (non-identified) brands of bottled water contained more than 1ppt of PFAS.

“They tested and found detectible levels of PFAS in 19 different brands of bottled water,” said Pate. “Bottled water is regulated by the FDA, not by the U.S. EPA, so they have a very different set of testing requirements than what we have to deal with for potable water. So if you’re going to choose bottled water, choose very carefully. EPA’s fact sheet addresses the same thing. What they tell you in the first sentence is that ‘drinking bottled water is a personal choice.’ If you want to drink bottled water, that’s great. That’s your choice. But it’s not the utilities responsibility to provide that. It’s a personal choice that everybody should make. FDA did do a PFAS study back in 2016 and they did not find any PFAS in bottled water in 2016, but the testing methods have changed so much that your Mauldin Road plant would have been considered non-detected back in 2016 the way the test was done, just like these bottled waters were. So the bottled water test that Consumer Reports uses a much newer testing methods at much lower levels. Just know that and be careful that if you’re going to drink bottled water to reduce your PFAS exposure to make sure you’re finding bottled water that’s been reverse osmosis treated. ”

Pate also gave some information on point of use filters, which are the filters used on products like Brita.

“This is a study done by Dr. Delef Knappe at NC State University and I couldn’t agree (with his conclusion) more, that the real goal for control of PFAS contamination should be at your source,” said Pate. “I’m a huge proponent that the water plant should produce potable water and you shouldn’t have to make your own potable water at your home. They tested a lot of filters, and some filters were effective and some filters were not. The issue you have with the carbon filters is it is a two-stage filter and if you don’t change the carbon out, once it absorbs enough PFAS material, at some point it becomes full. Once it becomes full it starts to slough off and it can actually increase your exposure to PFAS by not changing your filter out on time. That applies to the under the sink filter, that applies to your refrigerator for the ice maker and water dispenser. If you don’t change that filter out per the manufacturers’ recommendation, you can increase your exposure to PFAS. We’ve got data that shows this for years, and it’s in the EPA’s Fact Sheet that they came out with the Wednesday before last. The other takeaway on these filters is that there are no filters certified today to remove PFAS down to the levels of the new MCL. So there are some filters out there that are certified to remove PFAS but they’re testing methods aren’t tight enough that they can certify they are removed down enough to the Maximum Contaminant Levels. If you do decide you want to reduce PFAS in your home with a filter in your home, make sure you research that appropriately. ”

Pate also touched on bathing and showering.

“The EPA has come out now and said that a very, very small percentage of PFAS can get in your body through your skin through absorption, so bathing or showering are not likely to be primary routes of PFAS or PFOS exposure,” said Pate. “You are fine to bathe, shower or swim. Those things are all good. It’s not an issue.”

Also included in Pate’s presentation were the other sources of exposure to PFAS besides drinking water.

“Nobody in the water business thinks that we should be drinking water that contains PFAS,” said Pate. “We all think it needs to be out. We are all working very hard to get it out. But we also come into contact with lots and lots of other ways. The EPA has put out some information about that. How much of your exposure comes from drinking water varies on where you live, what you do for a living, and other environmental factors that you come in contact with. If you live in an area that has higher concentrations of PFAS in drinking water, it makes sense that more of your exposure would come from your drinking water. If you work in a carpet manufacturing facility and you work near the stain coating and you’re spraying PFAS on carpet all day, then it makes sense you would have a higher exposure (to PFAS) from that. But we get exposure through many different ways.”

Pate showed that PFAS exposure can come from a variety of household things in your home such as nail polish, cleaning products, shampoo, plumber’s tape, carpet and carpet pads, cell phones, electronics, dental floss, toilet paper, candy wrappers, non-stick cookware and microwave popcorn bags.

“Ultimately, all of these things end up back into the environment, and that leads up to them making their way back into the drinking water,” said Pate. “The water utility has never bought PFAS, they’ve never used a drop of PFAS, they’ve never sold a drop of PFAS; we don’t use them in the water plants, we don’t use them in the wastewater plants. But yet it’s our responsibility to take them out.”

Pate focused on three studies with PFAS in household items that have been released in the last six weeks.

The first one he mentioned was the study by Environmental Health News who partnered with the consumer watchdog Mamavation sent 40 adhesive bandages of different brands to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-certified lab that found that 65 percent of the bandages contained detectable levels of PFAS.

Toilet paper usage overall was estimated to contribute up to 80 parts of 6:2 diPAP per billion per person every year to wastewater with researchers.

“Our results suggest that toilet paper should be considered as a potentially major source of PFAS entering wastewater systems,” the researchers wrote.

Contact lenses were also part of a study which found three produced by Alcon with high levels of PFAS.

“Contact lenses are at 20,000 parts per million,” said Pate of the Alcon Air Optix (No Hydraglide) for Astigmatism, Alcon Air Optix Colors with Smartshield Technology and Alcon Total 30 Contact Lenses for Daily Wear. “Super high concentration in (these) contact lenses and we are putting them in our eyes. The best contact lenses (Acuvue Oasys with Hydraclear Plus with UV Blocking) and Alcon Dailies Total One-Day Water Gradient for Astigmatism) were at 106 and 113 parts per million. Again, our drinking water standards are 4 parts per trillion. So super high concentrations of PFAS in all these products we use every day.”

Pate said that the City of Calhoun is way ahead in the pilot study.

“There are systems across the country lined up behind you to do the study you are doing now,” said Pate, who noted that one of the studies being done in Calhoun is the only one in the country and that it will be in Calhoun for the next six months. “If you are really concerned about your PFAS exposure and really limiting that across the entire realm, then you need to look at some of these other avenues (household items) as well and make sure you’re taking all these things into account.”

Pate finished up that his company has a Facebook group, Alabama Georgia PFAS Working Group, available where they share articles and information.

“It’s not a place for opinions; it’s not a place for any of that,” said Pate. “If anybody starts commenting, we will turn it off. It’s out there so we can share information so the public can stay informed about where there drinking water is and the challenges we face.”

You can find the City of Calhoun’s latest PFAS update at https://www.cityofcalhoun-ga.com/

City gives update on water situation; Public voices concerns at latest meeting

By: BRANDI OWCZARZ | Gazette Owner-Publisher
Tuesday, March 26, 2024

At the Monday night, March 25, 2024 meeting of the Calhoun City Council, Erik Henson, Water & Sewer Director for the City of Calhoun, gave a PFAS water contamination update to the public.

As the Gazette has previously reported, the City of Calhoun is being sued in both Superior Court and in Federal Court due to alleged PFAS contamination in the water supply.

PFAS is an umbrella term used to describe extremely resistant fluorocarbon compounds. The unique chemical bond between fluorine and carbon provides useful properties like oil, grease, stain and water resistance. PFAS chemicals have been used to impart these properties on products like carpet, textiles, food package and clothing items. Nicknamed “Forever Chemicals,” PFAS do not breakdown naturally and tend to build up in plants, animals and humans overtime. Due to its long history of production and pathways into the environment, low-level background concentrations of PFAS compounds have been found around the world. These background concentrations vary depending on the local environment and oftentimes the proximity to industries that used PFAS in their manufacturing operations. The primary concern is that chronic ingestion of PFAS compounds can lead to debilitating or deadly health effects such as cancer, immune system compromises, hormone imbalances, kidney disease, nervous system effects and reproductive issues.

“Calhoun Utilities has been overwhelmed with calls and emails,” said Henson. “We have been working diligently to return each and every phone call.”

Henson then laid out the plan that Calhoun has followed so far to address the issues at both the Brittany Drive Water Treatment Plant, which mainly serves the eastern side of the County with a little overlap west of I-75; and the Mauldin Road Water Treatment Plant, which serves the western side of the county.

“We have ordered carbon for our fourth filter at the Brittany Drive Water Treatment Plant,” said Henson. “There is a preliminary install date of next week. While they are installing that last filter, they will also change the GAC (Granular Activated Carbon) and one other filter because we are starting to see a PFAS breakthrough. Water samples will then be collected and analyzed for PFAS from all the filters combined. Live results will be expedited and provided once we receive (those results). We hope the PFAS levels will be undetectable, and we will provide drinking water, free of charge, from a connection found near the entrance of our Brittany Drive Water Treatment Plant. This connection will be identified by a nearby sign.”

Henson then laid out the plans at Mauldin Road.

“There have been three pilot study skids provided at (Mauldin); two of them are in operation and the third is expected to be online this week. Our consultant engineers have also began evaluating GAC (installation) in that plant as well. We have already ordered four (carbon) filters to be installed; the estimated delivery date of next week as well.”

Henson then went over common questions the City is receiving, including PFAS levels at each facility.

“PFAS levels fluctuate due to changes in the environment,” said Henson. “(At) the Brittany Drive Water Treatment Plan, we have seen PFOA at levels of 7.9 parts per trillion (PPT) and PFAS of 8.4 PPT. At the Mauldin Road Treatment Plant, was 21 PPT and PFAS was 14 PPT. Those were the results from our January (2024) sampling.”

Henson said one of the most asked questions is “what is sludge or biosolids?”

“From an EPA article on biosolids, the terms ‘biosolids’ and ‘sludge’ are often used interchangeably," said Henson. "Biosolids are a product of the wastewater treatment process. During wastewater treatment, the liquids are separated from the solids. The solids are then treated physically to produce a semisolid free-range product known as biosolids. Biosolids must meet all federal and state requirements. Examples of use include application to agricultural land and reclamation sites. When applied to land at the appropriate agronomic rates, biosolids provide a number of benefits including improved soil structure and water reuse. Land application of biosolids can also have economic and waste management benefits such as conservation of landfill space, reduce the demand of non-renewable resources like phosphorus and reduce the demand for synthetic fertilizers.”

“Does the City apply biosolids?” asked Henson. “Fifty percent of all biosolids in the United States are land applied. Currently, the City does not apply biosolids; however, we are presently and in the past been in full compliance with all state and federal government regulations concerning biosolids and its land application.”

Land application, disposal of biosolids and any questions or concerns related to the land application and permit compliance can be directed to the EPD at 770-387-4900 or by emailing askepd@gaepd.org.

“To date, neither of the wastewater treatment plants has been in violation with any federal or state requirements concerning PFAS,” said Henson. “Last week, Calhoun Utilities were notified that three of our treatment plants received the Georgia Association of Water Professionals Gold Award for being in compliance during the entire calendar year of 2023.”

Henson also pointed out that PFAS has been labeled as an “emerging contaminate” because it is a contaminate not yet regulated.

“While many communities have not yet been tested for PFAS, more and more are discovering that PFAS are not just an isolated event due to the large consumer demands,” said Henson. “Manufacturers have produced PFAS for thousands of products for the last several decades. Until the importation and manufacturing of PFAS is federally banned, the City will be forced to filter and dispose of the contaminate.”

William Brooks, who lives on Pine Chapel Road near one of the fields where sludge had been dumped, addressed the Council.

“What I want to talk about is the lack of communication; we didn’t even know about this whole PFAS deal until a group from Rome came down…across from me, I live on what they call Area 11,' said Brooks. "What’s scary to me is, that is one of the heaviest concentrations of PFAS in the area. We’re not talking about new applications; we’re talking about old applications. There’s a little lake up there above the zone and it runs down in a creek, it crosses right in the middle of Area 11. All the water washes down, into the creek and runs right into the City water system.”

Brooks also expressed concern about the ‘Forever Chemicals’ being on the farmland, near his home, for thousands of years. Reading a note from another citizen, he asked if PFAS levels were extremely high.

“We’ve got something in this county that can make you have cancers; it can make you have all kinds of physical problems, mental problems. I think you need to look into it real close. And what about the school children who, every day, drink out of water fountains? How can you sit up there and say you’re doing something? And what about the little babies? Their formula is mixed with water. You’ve got to do something. I want to see shovels hitting the ground. I think the citizens of this county are due that.”

Mayor Jimmy Palmer then reiterated some of the information that Henson had announced.

“Today, neither the water nor the wastewater treatment plants have been in violation of any state or federal regulation concerning PFAS. Last week, Calhoun Utilities was notified that all three of our treatment plants received the Georgia Association of Water Professionals Gold Award; this is for being in full compliance the previous calendar year. We’re in compliance now with those numbers, but we understand those levels, those numbers are going to be reduced. We are being proactive in what we’re doing, and I say that because the EPD said that; what we are doing currently, we want to be prepared when those numbers come out. That’s why we’re doing the charcoal filters; that’s why we’re doing all the pilot studies. I wish we could change it; I wish we could make it go away. I wish it wasn’t in makeup, I wish it wasn’t in wrappers of our fast food; I wish it wasn’t in the Teflon pans. We are being proactive and doing our best. We want safety; we want safe water. We are working proactively in that direction.”

Calhoun resident Marissa Williams said that she doesn’t drink the City's water.

“My main concern is for our community, for our environment," said Williams. "This not only impacts us in this building, but it impacts our children, our grandchildren, future generations. Our town is being poisoned by these toxins. We’ve got cattle grazing on land that has sludge deposited on it. I don’t understand how we can be meeting the standards for our own personal drinking water. Are those sludge fields, are they still depositing material on the land? What about the water table? What about the river? What about the contamination? Is there any way to salvage the farm land? I hate to see somebody’s farm environmentally ruined because of toxins.”

Williams asked if the City was going to provide her with clean drinking water while everything is getting fixed in the area.

“What are we supposed to do with the water we have now?” asked Williams. “You can’t boil it and drink it.”

Williams asked if the carbon filters being put in would give the public safe drinking water.

City Attorney George Govignon said that the goal of the measured results with the filters on pilot programs was to be “undetectable,” but that science hasn’t caught up with the problem yet.

“Undetectable right now, by two of the three (testing) labs, is two parts per trillion (for PFAS),” said Govignon. “Right now, some labs will tell you they can’t go lower than four parts per trillion. Another problem is they can’t decide what testing method is going to be used; there are three different testing methods. All of this is being addressed every day. I haven’t had a day in the last month that I haven’t been working with everyone, trying to figure out what we’re supposed to do.

“The City’s number one goal, and priority, is to make sure the drinking water is safe, then start addressing the other problems,” continued Govignon. “GAC is not going to be a permanent solution, and that’s why we have three other pilot programs and have already applied for $7 million dollars. We’re already light years ahead of other communities around us. Every county in the state of Georgia has PFAS in its water. Savannah is bragging that they have four parts per trillion.”

Williams asked Govignon what the option is at this time for safe water.

“I’ve been drinking it my whole life. I’m 53-years-old,” said Govignon. “My kids are drinking it; I’m cooking with it right now. I’d love to know that it’s undetectable, but I’m also talking about four eye droplets in an Olympic-sized swimming pool that we’re looking for; out of 660,000 gallons, we’re looking for four eye droplets based on proposed...proposed...federal requirements. There are no federal requirements right now. I say on behalf of everybody in this room that works for the city, it is not something that’s being ignored.”

Colleen Brooks, from Pine Chapel Road, said that at this particular time, she feels like her home place is sitting in a "poison patch."

Brooks said that being in Area 11, she was told she was in ‘Ground Zero,” but never specified who told her that. “We are told not to drink the water, not to let our children, or grandchildren, play in the dirt too much and to wash their hands. Well, they’re washing their hands in water that has PFAS in it,” said Brooks.

Brooks said that she sent a sample of water to be tested and that the result said the water wasn’t safe to drink, but did not disclose name of the lab that tested the water.

“I just have to take what they said,” said Brooks.

Brooks said she uses a bottle of water to brush her teeth and that she takes a shower “really quickly.”

Brooks said that it’s gotten ridiculous that she’s paying for water that she can’t really use.

“I don’t know what the answer is to that, but I do know that our water is not safe to drink,” said Brooks. “It cost $78 to send that water off to a company (to be tested). I’m very concerned about this. My grandsons, who like to dig in the dirt and find treasures because we had an old farm house that burned and there’s melted glass in the yard, they’re out there digging in the dirt and all I can think about is, ‘How many PFAS are they getting on their fingers? It’s a constant worry. I’m not saying it’s your fault and I know that you can’t do it overnight, but we’ve got to have an answer.”

Govignon responded to Brooks that the plan is to get the water coming out of the Brittany and Mauldin plants meeting everybody’s needs, then to address the other things as the litigation goes along.

“We’re talking about monumental amounts of money being spent, and things that have taken 50 years to be the problem that we cannot fix overnight,” said Govignon. “The City has been aggressive on this ever since this has been brought to our attention. The problem is, no one knows what the solution is yet. That’s why we have an engineer hired and an engineering firm with three different pilot studies. Whether we do an ion resin exchange, whether we do reverse osmosis, whether we continue with GAC filtering…so we’re actively trying to use technology, we’re cutting edge right now, on a small scale to see what we can do. The charcoal is working, theoretically, but it is not a long term solution for a long term problem. They are forever chemicals, in which there are 18 being tested in commercial labs, and there are over 9,000 chemical combinations. I mean, if you move an oxygen around, it suddenly makes it another patented chemical. The manufacturers have not stopped producing it, and more importantly, there are no such regulations to oversee. Stuff is being imported from other places. We’re getting it from all sources, not just water. It’s in your food, it’s in your food prep, and it’s in Chinese-made waterproof mascara. As people are continuing to use Teflon pans, as they’re continuing to use makeup as they’re continuing to use other products and consuming, it gets into the system and gets into the water.”

Resident Dianne Kirby, who lives on the east side of the county and has well water that she tests regularly, said she thinks all of this is being blown out of proportion.

“I have my water tested and my water is not filtered and it tested fine,” said Kirby. “My personal opinion is there is overreaction. The State says my water is fine. (My water is) feeding above, before it gets into Brittany.”

Govignon said that the City is actively trying to fix the problem as quickly, efficiently and inexpensively as possible so more permanent fixtures can be put into place, and an update will be given at every City Council meeting. City Council meets the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Depot on South King Street in downtown Calhoun.

Another lady at the meeting asked if there was anything that could be done at home to make water safer to drink. Govignon said that he was not aware of anything but would research it and put on the website (cityofcalhoun-ga.com/pfas-information). He also reiterated that once Brittany Drive is at an undetectable level with the four filters in place, the physical tap will be in place for the community to get free water.

“That’s the commitment here, is for everybody to feel safe,” said Govignon.

Govignon said that the priority at this time is to make sure the water plants are producing undetectable levels of PFAS and then the next plan is identifying exactly what land areas contain PFAS and check wells.

"We do share the same concerns; we all want the best for our community," said Mayor Palmer. "We are working aggressively to get (the levels down)."

PFAS information and updates can be found on the City's website at cityofcalhoun-ga.com/pfas-information

That suit is going through Superior Court, and was brought by Moss Land Company LLC and Revocable Living Trust of William Darryl Edwards, by and through William Darryl Edwards, Trustee. These plaintiffs are suing the City of Calhoun, along with local flooring and chemical manufacturers 3M Company, Daiken America, Inc., E.I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company, The Chemours Company, Inv Performance Surfaces LLC, Arrowstar LLC, Aladdin Manufacturing Corporation, Mohawk Carpet LLC, Mohawk Industries Inc., Shaw Industries Inc. Shaw Industries Group Inc., Milliken & Company, Mannington Carpets Inc., The Dixie Group Inc. and Marquis Industries Inc.

The Plaintiffs allege that they have “been damaged and continue to be damaged due to the wrongful act and omissions by Defendants that have caused toxic per and-polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) to be discharged onto their properties,” according to the lawsuit.

The City maintains that since the issuance of recommended regulatory guidelines by the EPA concerning acceptable levels of PFAS contamination last year, Calhoun has been actively investigating options to reduce the levels of PFAS in the municipal drinking water supply.

In their answer to the lawsuit, filed in court on February 22 of this year, the City of Calhoun is seeking damages and relief from Daikin, Inv Performance Surface, Arrowstar, Aladdin Manufacturing, Mohawk Carpet, Mohawk Industries, Shaw Industries, Shaw Industries Group, Milliken & Company, Mannington Carpets, The Dixie Group, Marquis Industries, 3M Company, E.I. Dupont De Nemours and Company and The Chemours Company.

The Gazette then reported on March 7, 2024 that on behalf of Coosa River Basin Initiative, the Southern Environmental Law Center had filed a lawsuit against the City of Calhoun in Federal District Court for violating federal law and allowing harmful pollutants in drinking water.

According to a release from CRBI, the planned lawsuit will seek to halt and remedy ongoing PFAS contamination from one of the major sludge fields where Calhoun previously disposed of PFAS-contaminated sludge generated by its wastewater plant, located on the Coosawattee River a short distance upstream from one of the city’s main surface water intakes used to supply public drinking water. CRBI’s planned suit will also seek to halt and remedy ongoing PFAS contamination of groundwater that may be used as a source of drinking water, including the groundwater wells and the natural spring supplying Calhoun’s second drinking water treatment plant.

Citizens speak out demanding answers on water quality at latest City Council meeting

By: BRANDI OWCZARZ | Gazette Owner-Publisher
Tuesday, March 12, 2024

At the Monday night, March 11, 2024 meeting of the Calhoun City Council, several residents spoke out regarding water quality in the City of Calhoun after the news of Calhoun being sued in both Superior Court and in Federal Court due to alleged PFAS contamination in the water.

“I want to know when you are going to give us safe water to drink?” asked Calhoun resident Matthew Williams. “When are you going to provide us clean, safe water to drink? Y’all should be ashamed of yourselves. You’re killing your neighbors. When are we going to get safe water to drink?"

“Not only is the water something that is a necessity for life, we bathe in it. Our skin is the largest organ; what are we going to do about it? Who approved it?” asked resident Shelly Mullinax. “Across the country and across the world, there’s contaminated water everywhere you go. This is crimes against humanity. Our town deserves to know what y’all have done. I believe, whole-heartedly, you will all be held accountable if you don’t speak out and do the things to correct it. Why was it allowed for so long? It doesn’t make any sense. Why? To give our hospitals more work, more money? Y’all are here to defend us and protect us. I’m so disappointed. I believe it is your duty to warn the American public of Gordon County and around the surrounding areas the hazards of our drinking water, and our bathing water, for our animals, for our children. Not just now but for generations to come. That is how you have affected this town and this land that God has given us…crimes against humanity. I believe that the military should be notified; I believe that the U.S. Marshals should be notified and at this point, may God have mercy."

Several more residents also spoke out voicing their concerns to the City Council on the issue.

In a statement back in February, the City maintains that since the issuance of recommended regulatory guidelines by the EPA concerning acceptable levels of PFAS contamination last year, Calhoun has been actively investigating options to reduce the levels of PFAS in the municipal drinking water supply.

As the Gazette originally reported on February 21 of this year, the City of Calhoun received a lawsuit regarding alleged contamination of the City of Calhoun’s water based on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). The lawsuit alleges that the contamination is from carpet and textile manufacturers’ wastewater, which then infiltrated the City’s water supply. The other defendants in the lawsuit include the manufacturers of PFAS—who sold those chemicals to the carpet and textile manufacturers—and the carpet manufacturers themselves. That suit is going through Superior Court, and was brought by Moss Land Company LLC and Revocable Living Trust of William Darryl Edwards, by and through William Darryl Edwards, Trustee. These plaintiffs are suing the City of Calhoun, along with local flooring and chemical manufacturers 3M Company, Daiken America, Inc., E.I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company, The Chemours Company, Inv Performance Surfaces LLC, Arrowstar LLC, Aladdin Manufacturing Corporation, Mohawk Carpet LLC, Mohawk Industries Inc., Shaw Industries Inc. Shaw Industries Group Inc., Milliken & Company, Mannington Carpets Inc., The Dixie Group Inc. and Marquis Industries Inc.

According to the lawsuit, the Plaintiffs are owners of property in Gordon County which have been contaminated by PFAS in sewage sludge dumped on their property by the City of Calhoun and “as a direct and proximate result of the Defendants’ wrongful acts and omissions, Plaintiffs have been damaged by the presence of toxic levels of PFAS on their property.”

Moss Land Company LLC owns approximately 2,700 acres of land on Pine Chapel Road bordering the Coosawattee River which the lawsuit claims “the City of Calhoun has land applied sludge contaminated PFAS.” The lawsuit goes on to say that Plaintiff Revocable Living Trust of William Darryl Edwards owns 102 acres of land in Gordon County which says the City has applied sludge contaminated with PFAS.

According to the lawsuit, Calhoun, “which is the second largest center for carpet production in the United States after Dalton, Georgia,” owns and operates a sewer system and a WPCP (Water Pollution Control Plant) which accepts industrial wastewater from industrial users, including Defendant Carpet Manufacturers, which has contained PFAS.

“The sludge from the Calhoun WPCP has for many years been disposed of by land application on the properties of the Plaintiffs, with nearly 28,000 tons applied to the Moss property," said the lawsuit. "Plaintiffs had no knowledge that the sludge applied to their property contained PFAS until Moss Land Company, LLC received a notice letter threatening a suit for PFAS discharges from its property by the Southern Environmental Law Center in November 2023.”

“Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency issued new recommended levels of PFAS in drinking water,” the City said in their statement. “Months later the City was the recipient of an ‘intent to sue’ letter from the Southern Environmental Law Center threatening to file suit against the municipal water provider on behalf of the Coosa River Basin Initiative. In addition to issues of possible drinking water contamination already being addressed independent of any litigation, this suit would concern itself with contamination abatement and remediation concerning the same lands already involved in the suit filed in the Gordon County Superior Court. Additionally, steps have been taken to also address probable contamination of all water sources by the release of treated wastewater. The City retained legal counsel and engineering experts to assist in not only directly addressing the current PFAS contamination, but also a means to ultimately have the chemical manufacturers who marketed and profited off of the sale of these substances shoulder the burden for the costs necessary to now ensure safe drinking water is available in Gordon County. The City has applied for federal and state funding made available to address PFAS contamination of public water supplies. Additionally, the utilities division staff are formulating a procedure to identify potentially contaminated ground sources of drinking water used privately in unincorporated areas of the county and make available municipal water safe from PFAS contamination without the connection for those affected residents outside the City. As always, protection of public health and the environment and the quality of your drinking water are our top priorities.”

According to a statement from CRBI, "Calhoun’s wastewater treatment plant is polluting the region with PFAS in two ways: discharging PFAS directly to the Coosawattee River from a large sludge field upstream of one of the city’s main drinking water intakes, and contaminating groundwater with PFAS from previously dumped sludge. Calhoun’s second drinking water treatment plant draws source water from onsite groundwater wells and a natural freshwater spring near certain sludge application fields, and all sources have reported PFAS based on agency testing in 2021. Although Calhoun leaders say they no longer dispose of sludge on the land, the PFAS contamination remains ongoing."

“Drinking water impacts because wastewater authorities don’t comply with environmental laws and control pollution at its source is absolutely unacceptable,” says Jesse Demonbruen-Chapman, CRBI Executive Director. “The citizens of northwest Georgia deserve full transparency from the city about the safety of their drinking water, and they deserve a robust response to the potentially dangerous contaminants that are in it.”

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, negative health effects may occur in people who drink water with near zero concentrations of PFOA and PFOS, (two particularly dangerous PFAS). Last year EPA proposed drinking water limits for six PFAS compounds, including PFOA and PFOS, at 4 parts per trillion.

“When wastewater facilities don’t meet their obligation to protect our natural resources, like safe drinking water, we must take legal action to hold them accountable,” said Chris Bowers, SELC Senior Attorney. “There is growing awareness of how dangerous forever chemicals can be to humans and the environment. We hoped Calhoun would step up and do the right thing by stopping this PFAS contamination. Given the urgency of this situation, we’ll be asking the court to step in and enforce our critical environmental laws, so that this PFAS contamination is adequately controlled and remedied.”

According to CRBI's release, the planned lawsuit will seek to halt and remedy ongoing PFAS contamination from one of the major sludge fields where Calhoun previously disposed of PFAS-contaminated sludge generated by its wastewater plant, located on the Coosawattee River a short distance upstream from one of the city’s main surface water intakes used to supply public drinking water. CRBI’s planned suit will also seek to halt and remedy ongoing PFAS contamination of groundwater that may be used as a source of drinking water, including the groundwater wells and the natural spring supplying Calhoun’s second drinking water treatment plant.

“The buck stops with wastewater treatment facilities. Calhoun must stop accepting polluted wastewater from industries that use PFAS chemicals,” said Jamie Whitlock, a Senior Attorney at SELC in their release. “These environmental laws are designed to protect citizens from the type of widespread pollution the citizens of Calhoun, and their downstream neighbors, are enduring.”

In February, the City announced that to date, Calhoun has installed Granular Activated Carbon (“GAC”) within existing filter beds at the Brittany Drive Water Treatment Plant and is in the process of installing and evaluating the performance of GAC in existing filter beds at the Mauldin Road Water Treatment plant. Just this week the equipment necessary for a pilot testing of a reverse osmosis system arrived and will be quickly put into use to examine long term solutions. The City has continued to perform ongoing testing of the drinking water and has reported test results to the Georgia EPD. The City, going forward, will continue the evaluation and use of GAC as a temporary, emergency measure while a long-term and permanent treatment solution is investigated and developed by our engineers. The City expects to begin pilot studies of various permanent PFAS treatment technologies in the coming weeks to ensure that the City will be compliant with any EPA PFAS regulations.

The City ceased land application of biosolids that may contain PFAS sent to the City’s wastewater treatment plant by industrial sources, as well as by way of residential and commercial sewer users. Biosolids are all of the semi-solid substances left at the end of the wastewater treatment process that must be disposed of and removed from treatment tanks.

The City of Calhoun will continue to provide updates regarding its ongoing efforts to address PFAS issues on the City’s website at https://www.cityofcalhoun- ga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024-PFA-Update.pdf. The EPA provides updated information regarding PFAS at https://www.epa.gov/pfas, and additional information can be found from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division provides updated PFAS information at https://epd.georgia.gov/pfoa-and-pfos- information.

Additional info on Calhoun water contamination case; Counterclaim filed by City

By: BRANDI OWCZARZ | Gazette Owner-Publisher
Monday, February 26, 2024

On Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, the City of Calhoun addressed a lawsuit concerning alleged PFAS contamination of drinking water.

“The lawsuit alleges that the contamination is from carpet and textile manufacturers’ wastewater, which then infiltrated the City’s water supply,” said the statement. “The other defendants in the lawsuit include the manufacturers of PFAS—who sold those chemicals to the carpet and textile manufacturers—and the carpet manufacturers themselves.”

The lawsuit, which was filed in Gordon County Superior Court on January 22 of this year, was brought by Moss Land Company LLC and Revocable Living Trust of William Darryl Edwards, by and through William Darryl Edwards, Trustee. These plaintiffs are suing the City of Calhoun, along with local flooring and chemical manufacturers 3M Company, Daiken America, Inc., E.I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company, The Chemours Company, Inv Performance Surfaces LLC, Arrowstar LLC, Aladdin Manufacturing Corporation, Mohawk Carpet LLC, Mohawk Industries Inc., Shaw Industries Inc. Shaw Industries Group Inc., Milliken & Company, Mannington Carpets Inc., The Dixie Group Inc. and Marquis Industries Inc.

The Plaintiffs allege that they “been damaged and continue to be damaged due to the wrongful act and omissions by Defendants that have caused toxic per and-polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) to be discharged onto their properties.”

Moss Land Company LLC owns approximately 2,700 acres of land on Pine Chapel Road bordering the Coosawattee River which “the City of Calhoun has land applied sludge contaminated PFAS.” The lawsuit goes on to say that Plaintiff Revocable Living Trust of William Darryl Edwards owns 102 acres of land in Gordon County which the City has applied sludge contaminated with PFAS.

According to the suit, Calhoun, “which is the second largest center for carpet production in the United States after Dalton, Georgia,” owns and operates a sewer system and a WPCP (Water Pollution Control Plant) which accepts industrial wastewater from industrial users, including Defendant Carpet Manufacturers, which has contained PFAS.

“The sludge from the Calhoun WPCP has for many years been disposed of by land application on the properties of the Plaintiffs, with nearly 28,000 tons applied to the Moss property. Plaintiffs had no knowledge that the sludge applied to their property contained PFAS until Moss Land Company, LLC received a notice letter threatening a suit for PFAS discharges from its property by the Southern Environmental Law Center in November 2023.”

The lawsuit listed human diseases caused by exposure to PFAS as “cancer, immunotoxicity, thyroid disease, ulcerative colitis and high cholesterol.” It also says that an Ante Litem notice was served on the City of Calhoun, Georgia by Plaintiffs on December 5, 2023. Calhoun responded on January 11, 2024 but “did not settle the claim.”

The lawsuit is asking for a trial by jury and for damages in an amount to be determined by a jury sufficient to compensate the Plaintiffs for read property damages, out of pocket expenses, lost profits and sales, and future expenses. Other requests include awarding the Plaintiff punitive damages, award attorney fees and costs incurred in connection with the lawsuit and requiring the Defendants to remove the PFAS chemicals from the Plaintiffs’ properties.

“The City of Calhoun, Georgia never manufactured or commercially applied PFAS for any reason,” the Crossclaim said. “The PFAS that are referenced in the Complaint were manufactured and delivered to Gordon County by Chemical Manufacturers that knew PFAS were harmful to the environment and public health. The PFAS Manufacturing Defendants knew their PFAS chemicals were Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic (“PBT”), as that term is used by the EPA to describe the chemicals. This information was also known to the Carpet Manufacturers, but was not shared with Calhoun. The PFAS Manufacturing Defendants spread misinformation and actively worked to mislead the public about the environmental harm and negative human health associations caused by their chemicals. These efforts were undertaken individually and collectively through associations like the Fluoro Council.”

Calhoun’s Crossclaim goes on to say “Carpet Manufacturers in Gordon County have applied significant amounts of PFAS to treat their carpets for soil resistance. In many cases, the Carpet Manufacturing Defendants were misled by Chemical Manufacturers about the dangers of PFAS. Eventually, through the EPA and manufacturing associations like the Carpet & Rug Institute, the Carpet Manufacturers learned the truth about the dangers of PFAS. But the Carpet Manufacturers failed to inform Calhoun about PFAS in their wastewater and failed to fulfill their statutory and legal duties to avoid harming the environment, which has led to the presence of PFAS in area groundwater, rivers and the Publicly Owned Treatment Works (“POTW”) where PFAS had adhered to sludge from the wastewater treatment process. The sludge that is left over from the treatment process, in many cases, has been land applied as fertilizer on local properties. Calhoun has discontinued the practice.”

The Crossclaim maintains that Calhoun seeks to hold those they feel is responsible, the Carpet Manufacturing Defendants and Chemical Manufacturers, for their actions that have caused a nuisance and damages to Calhoun.

Calhoun is asking in their Crossclaim against the Carpet Manufacturers damages in an amount to be determined by a jury sufficient to compensate the City for real property damage, out-of-pocket expenses, lost profit and sales, remediation and all future construction and operational expenses, as well as issuance of an order requiring the Crossclaim Defendants to prevent PFAS chemicals from continuing to enter the Calhoun WPCP and other requests.

“The City has applied for federal and state funding made available to address PFAS contamination of public water supplies,” said the City in their statement on Wednesday. “Additionally, the utilities division staff are formulating a procedure to identify potentially contaminated ground sources of drinking water used privately in unincorporated areas of the county and make available municipal water safe from PFAS contamination without the connection for those affected residents outside the City. As always, protection of public health and the environment and the quality of your drinking water are our top priorities.”

The statement said that before this lawsuit had been filed, the City implemented immediate “stop gap” measures to rapidly reduce PFAS in the municipal system for public drinking water. Those measures to date include the installation of Granular Activated Carbon (“GAC”) within existing filter beds at the Brittany Drive Water Treatment Plant. The City is also in the process of installing and evaluating the performance of GAC in existing filter beds at the Mauldin Road Water Treatment plant.

“Just this week the equipment necessary for a pilot testing of a reverse osmosis system arrived and will be quickly put into use to examine long term solutions,” said the statement. “The City has continued to perform ongoing testing of the drinking water and has reported test results to the Georgia EPD. The City, going forward, will continue the evaluation and use of GAC as a temporary, emergency measure while a long-term and permanent treatment solution is investigated and developed by our engineers. The City expects to begin pilot studies of various permanent PFAS treatment technologies in the coming weeks to ensure that the City will be compliant with any EPA PFAS regulations.”

In addition, the City has stopped the “land application of biosolids that may contain PFAS sent to the City’s wastewater treatment plant by industrial sources, as well as by way of residential and commercial sewer users,” said the statement. “Biosolids are all of the semi-solid substances left at the end of the wastewater treatment process that must be disposed of and removed from treatment tanks.”

According to the latest City of Calhoun Water Quality Report for the year 2022, the City of Calhoun’s primary consumer usable water source is the Coosawattee River (surface water). The Oostanaula River (surface water) can be used as an emergency water supply. The Mauldin Road Treatment Plant provides the majority of the drinking water for Calhoun and Gordon County. In 2022 the Mauldin Road Treatment Plant produced an average of 6.15 MGD of drinking water, in accordance with strict Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) guidelines for the removal of contaminants. The monthly capacity for this plant is 16.00 MGD. The Brittany Drive Treatment Plant is located in the eastern portion of Gordon County. In 2022 the plant produced an average of 4.79 MGD (million gallons per day) of drinking water from excellent ground water and natural spring sources. The monthly capacity for this plant is 11.80 MGD

In addition to Gordon County, the City of Calhoun also sells water to Pickens County, Chatsworth, Ga. and Rome, Ga.

The City of Calhoun’s statement said that they will continue to provide updates regarding its ongoing efforts to address PFAS issues on the City’s website at https://www.cityofcalhoun- ga.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024-PFA-Update.pdf. The EPA provides updated information regarding PFAS at https://www.epa.gov/pfas, and additional information can be found from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division provides updated PFAS information at https://epd.georgia.gov/pfoa-and-pfos- information.

Utilities, engineering firm give water update at latest City Council meeting

By: BRANDI OWCZARZ | Gazette Owner-Publisher Tuesday, April 23, 2024

The map that shows the areas each water treatment facility services. The yellow area is the Brittany Drive Water Treatment Plant; the pink is the Mauldin Road Water Treatment Plant.