Here’s what new ‘forever chemical’ drinking water limits mean for Tampa Bay

Across Tampa Bay, experts who oversee the drinking water supply for more than 2.5 million Floridians have, for months, been preparing for new federal limits on a group of harmful but widely used chemicals.

The big moment came on Wednesday, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced final regulations for six substances that are found in anything from the food and water we ingest to a slew of everyday household items, including food packaging, cleaning products and shampoo. They can take hundreds of years or longer to break down, hence their nickname “forever chemicals.”

Now, public water systems across the nation will have three years to test drinking water supplies and five years to develop a plan to remove the substances, which have been linked to a higher risk of health issues like cancer and heart disease.

The good news: That work has already begun in Tampa Bay. The bad news: It will likely take years before water supplies are regularly meeting new federal limits.

Since as early as January 2023, the city of Tampa’s water department has tested the water for “forever chemicals” quarterly. The highest reading at the city’s water treatment plant on the Hillsborough River was 6.9 parts per trillion, slightly higher than the 4 parts per trillion limit just set by the federal government.

The new federal limit for the substance, referred to commonly as PFAS, is the equivalent of about four drops of water in 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools. It’s an amount that, until recently, was so small that many water suppliers couldn’t measure it.

“The city understands that people are concerned about this,” said Sarah Burns, Tampa’s water department capital improvement program director. “We take our job of delivering quality drinking water that meets and improves upon all federal and state regulations very seriously.”

Compared to most of the nation, the city is already ahead of the curve, Burns said. In December, the water department outlined a plan to explore a filtration technique that, if successful, could siphon out the harmful chemicals.

The city’s water experts, including Burns, are hoping that downstream carbon filters could remove “forever chemicals” at the same time it removes organic material, a key step in the process. The city said that if it completes the $200 million installation of this technology on schedule by 2032, the Tampa plant would become the first American facility and “the largest in the world” with the capability.

“We are well ahead,” Burns told the Tampa Bay Times. “Most utilities don’t have much of a plan at all yet, and some have only just started testing.”

“We have a plan”

Federal environment regulators said Wednesday they expect the new regulations will stop harmful exposure to the substance in drinking water supplies for roughly 100 million people.

The new regulations will “prevent thousands of deaths, and reduce tens of thousands of serious (chemical)-attributable illnesses,” the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said. High exposure to the substances is currently associated with an increased risk of prostate, kidney and testicular cancers, and the chemicals can also harm reproductive and immune health.

It isn’t just the city of Tampa that has been awaiting the arrival of the new federal limits. The region’s main water supplier, Tampa Bay Water, sends drinking water to Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, including New Port Richey, St. Petersburg and Tampa. In anticipation of the new rules, Tampa Bay Water in July began testing the regional drinking water supply for the chemicals.

Over the first nine months of the study, water at one Hillsborough County treatment plant has slightly exceeded the new federal regulations during each of the past three quarterly tests, according to data provided by Tampa Bay Water. Results from that facility, the Lithia Water Treatment Plant, have ranged between 4.1 and 5 parts per trillion of “forever chemicals,” just above the 4 parts per trillion limit.

“We expect to find low levels of PFAS in drinking water because they don’t break down easily in the environment,” said Brandon Moore, spokesperson for Tampa Bay Water. “It’s not surprising, it’s manageable, and we have a plan for it.”

The regional water supplier aims to complete its full year of water quality testing this summer, Moore said. The results should give Tampa Bay Water a clear picture of the annual average concentration for the substances, which is what the federal government is using for the new limits. Later this year, staff will make recommendations for how to treat the water to Tampa Bay Water’s board of directors.

“The picture is now clearer with EPA’s final regulations,” said Steve Fleischacker, water quality services senior manager for Tampa Bay Water, in a prepared statement. “When you’re dealing with the public water supply and the quality of the water we deliver, it’s not guesswork. We make decisions and recommendations based on science and data.”

St. Pete’s numbers looking good

Florida environment regulators at the state level said they are currently reviewing the new regulations and will work with Florida’s public water systems to meet the limits in time.

The state is set to receive more than $40 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help fund chemical detection and treatment systems to meet the standard, according to documents provided by the agency. The money comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.

Though the Gov. Ron DeSantis administration has stood alone in denying federal climate funding in the past, the federal agency said every state intends to accept the money for reducing the chemicals.

At a St. Petersburg City Council committee meeting Thursday, member Lisset Hanewicz, who sits on the board of Tampa Bay Water, said data is being collected to work on recommendations. Council members were discussing the city’s pressing needs over the next 30 years ahead of a major public investment and vote on the redevelopment of Tropicana Field into the Historic Gas Plant District.

“The numbers came back really good for St. Petersburg,” she said.

St. Petersburg’s water comes from the Cosme Water Treatment Plant in Odessa. Since July, the city’s water has tested below the new federal limit, peaking around 1.7 parts per trillion, according to data provided by Tampa Bay Water.

During the meeting, St. Petersburg City Council member Gina Driscoll brought up the new federal regulations.

She questioned if chemical levels were another unknown the city would have to take into account. Public works administrator Claude Tankersley said, based on the city’s recent samplings, “We don’t anticipate the city of St. Petersburg having to change anything in the way that we are treating our water to meet those new standards.”

“That’s good news for today,” he said.

Tampa Bay Times reporter Colleen Wright contributed to this report.