Summary: Remember, part of Willow Park's water comes from Fort Worth. And now Fort Worth is suing the U.S. government and 29 chemical makers for $420 million over contamination of its drinking water by "forever chemicals."
• Latest Update: 20 March, 2025
• Note: Willow Park Civics is about Willow Park but is NOT associated with or managed by the City of Willow Park.
Fort Worth sues U.S. Dept. of Defense and 29 chemical manufacturers for $420M for water contamination.
Remember part of Willow Park's water comes from Fort Worth. Since Willow Park uses not only its own City well water but also surface water from Fort Worth, Willow Park Citizens need to pay attention to the quality of both water sources. [1]
During the 28 November 2023 Council Meeting, the City approved "a resolution opting out of the Class Action lawsuit against 3M, Dupont and other PFAS manufacturers, arising out of PFAS chemicals." Willow Park opted out in order to align itself with Forth Worth. [1]
Now, Fort Worth is suing the U.S. government and 29 chemical makers for $420 million over contamination of its drinking water by "forever chemicals." The lawsuit lists as defendants the Department of Defense, Department of the Air Force, Department of the Navy, and 29 companies, including 3M Co. and DuPont. [2]
These chemical products were used by the Department of Defense, including by the Air Force and Navy at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth (NAS JRB), formerly Carswell Air Force Base, in training exercises and fire control and suppression on the base. The use of the PFAS-containing products on the base caused them to enter the soil and groundwater surrounding NAS JRB. [3]
According to the court order, Fort Worth, the nation's 10th largest city, alleges 12 causes of action against the defendants, spanning from the 1940s to the present day. [2]
Willow Park Civics Sources and Resources
[1] Index of Willow Park Water, Local to State, Willow Park Civics Blog
• Johnson Co, 40 miles south of Willow Park, requests state disaster declaration over chemical contamination in soil and well water. Willow Park Civics Blog, posted 19 February 2025
Johnson County, 40 miles south of Willow Park, has requested a state disaster declaration over chemical contamination [including PFAS] found in soil, groundwater, surface water, fish, and animal tissue (including human).
• Of the 2,870 active cases of groundwater contamination in TX, a dozen are in Parker Co and none are in Willow Park. Willow Park Civics Blog, posted 01 January 2025
• "Forever Chemicals" in Willow Park well water and Fort Worth water., Willow Park Civics Blog, posted 18 April 2024
• Willow Park rejects class action lawsuit on "forever chemicals" in our water - well and Fort Worth. Willow Park Civics Blog, posted 12 December 2023
• During the 28 November 2023 Council Meeting, Agenda Item 5, approved "a resolution opting out of the Class Action lawsuit against 3M, Dupont and other PFAS manufacturers, arising out of PFAS chemicals.
[2] Too Big for 1 Docket: Fort Worth Files Mammoth Suit Over Water Contamination, Texas Lawyer, 19 March 2025
Fort Worth is suing the U.S. government and 29 chemical makers for $420 million over contamination of its drinking water by "forever chemicals." And now a judge has ordered the case broken up because it was too big and untenable. The City of Fort Worth applied to be part of multi-district litigation in South Carolina, which has had more than 10,000 associated cases opened as direct filed or transferred, comprised of tens of thousands of plaintiffs.
Toxic "forever chemicals" or PFAs leaked into Fort Worth's drinking water. Now, the city is suing the U.S. government and 29 chemical manufacturers for at least $420 million in damages over the contamination.
Fort Worth's attorneys asked the court to keep the litigation intact as a single lawsuit, rather than dividing it into 30 cases. They will likely transfer the lawsuit to the Aqueous Film-Forming Foam Multi-District Litigation in South Carolina, where similar PFAs cases are being consolidated. Since its inception, the MDL has had approximately 10,000 plus associated cases opened as direct filed or transferred, comprising tens of thousands of plaintiffs, according to the court.
Undeterred by the scale of the challenge, the City of Fort Worth took action March 10, filing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
The lawsuit lists as defendants the Department of Defense, Department of the Air Force, Department of the Navy, and 29 companies, including 3M Co. and DuPont, for contamination with per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAs.
Judge Mark T. Pittman ordered March 12 "that this case be divided into separate cases and case numbers for separate trials."
According to the court order, Fort Worth, the nation's 10th largest city, alleges 12 causes of action against the defendants, spanning from the 1940s to the present day.
[3] Fort Worth Sues U.S. Department of Defense, Chemical Manufacturers for Contamination, The Texan, 19 March 2025
The lawsuit revolves around the presence of toxic chemicals in the soil and water supply.
The City of Fort Worth has filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Defense and more than a dozen chemical manufacturers that it claims contributed to the presence of dangerous chemicals in the city’s drinking water.
It is seeking reimbursement for damages and the costs to address the presence of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the city’s drinking water system.
The lawsuit alleges that the chemical manufacturers, including 3M Company and Carrier Global Corporation, manufactured products containing PFAS, such as fire suppressants. It claims that these manufacturers knew about the risks PFAS pose to human health, but produced and sold these products without adequate warnings about their toxic effects.
The city claims that the manufacturers are responsible for PFAS released on or into the city’s property.
These products were then used by the Department of Defense, including by the Air Force and Navy at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth (NAS JRB), formerly Carswell Air Force Base, in training exercises and fire control and suppression on the base.
The use of the PFAS-containing products on the base caused them to enter the soil and groundwater surrounding NAS JRB.
Because of the complex nature of the lawsuit, naming 33 individual defendants and alleging 12 different causes of action, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman ordered that the lawsuit be severed with a different case for each defendant. The four government entities related to the Department of Defense will remain in one case.
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