What’s in our local tap water? Tell us more

Don Ruane
·3 min read

There’s good news out of City Hall – the public water supply is safe from toxic forever chemicals or PFAS.

PFAS made the national news last month when the federal Environmental Protection Agency issued its first-ever mandatory limits of PFAS in municipal drinking water supplies.

So, what’s the big deal? There is a dirth of easy-to-find local information about these chemicals. Tallahassee has spent around $300,000 to monitor the ground under the fire training center on Municipal Way and has joined thousands of other water suppliers in a consolidated lawsuit against major chemical suppliers.

PFAS can migrate to other areas if they get into aquifers. They are called forever chemicals because they take a long time to breakdown.

They’ve been linked ailments such as cancer, liver and kidney disease, low birth weights, immune system disorders, high cholesterol, and thyroid disease.

They’ve been used in non-stick cookware, clothing, circuit boards, firefighting foam, pizza boxes and other household goods.

They’ve even been used to make artificial turf, raising my concern for young athletes competing at Gene Cox Stadium and Leon County’s five high schools.

So, you can see why public officials and the media need to stay on top of this ongoing story and let us in on what’s going on. The city does have a useful and informative web page, but it’s not easy to find. When it comes down to the quality of our tap water, the more information we have the better off we are. We need to keep our eyes on this issue as more is learned.

Here’s what we know so far about the city’s efforts to stay abreast of the situation:

  • 2014: The city began testing the municipal drinking wells. No PFAS were found.

  • 2019: Signs of PFAS were found beneath the firefighter training center. Concern rose that PFAS were in the soil and might reach the groundwater aquifer where they could spread to private wells. The city believes the PFAS came from a firefighting foam used in training.

  • 2021: The city sued chemical companies for reimbursement of assessment and remediation costs for the training site. The suit also alleges that the companies took steps to protect billions of assets and profits from lawsuits.

  • April 10, 2024: EPA set the limit for PFAS in public water supplies at 4 parts per trillion (4 nanograms per liter), effective in 2029. Mandatory public notices of high levels becomes effective in 2027. Private wells are not regulated. Meanwhile, the city added 16 wells at the training center and found just one sample exceeding the new threshold.

Here’s the bottom line: “Water samples taken from municipal drinking water wells in and around the Tallahassee fire training facility also meet the most recently enacted national primary drinking water standards for PFAS,” says Tallahassee’s director of Environmental Services, Alissa Meyers.

That’s a press release waiting to be written.

Keep us posted.

Don Ruane
Don Ruane

Don Ruane is a retired print journalist who moved to Tallahassee five years ago. He can be reached at ruanedon@aol.com.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: What’s in our Tallahassee tap water? Tell us more