Summary: Manmade "forever chemicals" stay in your body, forever. Although there are "currently no signs of the chemicals in the [Willow Park] groundwater... some [Fort Worth] surface water resources were positive for some of the chemicals and we get our surface water from Fort Worth."
Latest Update: 19 January 2024; 11 December, 2023
Tags: #FortWorthWater
Willow Park rejects class action lawsuit on "forever chemicals" in our water - well and Fort Worth.
UPDATE: • Does Fort Worth water contain 500 times the proposed federal limit of toxic “forever chemicals?”, Fort Worth Report, 15 January 2024 "On average, Fort Worth’s drinking water does not exceed the EPA’s proposed limits," BUT "The city does not meet the EPA’s lifetime health advisory..."
On average, Fort Worth’s drinking water does not exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed limits on the amount of “forever chemicals” allowed in drinking water.
The EPA’s proposal limits specific PFAS chemicals to 4 parts per trillion. Fort Worth’s 2023 tests found an average of 2.08 parts per trillion of PFOA and 2.05 parts per trillion of PFOS. Some individual water treatment plants reported amounts above the new federal limit.
The city does not meet the EPA’s lifetime health advisory for PFAS, a non-enforceable standard that identifies the amount people can be exposed to without expecting negative health effects. The advisory recommends limiting PFOA to .004 parts per trillion and PFOS to .02 parts per trillion.
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Manmade "forever chemicals" stay in your body, forever. Although there are "currently no signs of the chemicals in the [Willow Park] groundwater... some [Fort Worth] surface water resources were positive for some of the chemicals and we get our surface water from Fort Worth." *2
A new study detected PFAS in 45 percent of the country’s tap water supply. *3
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.
City Administrator Grimes, explained, (10:49 in meeting video)
Willow Park has not gone through the official EPA testing but we're scheduled to have some in 2024. We've had some unofficial testing performed by the state and there are currently no signs of the chemicals in the groundwater.
Fort Worth has been through the official testing and some surface water resources were positive for some of the chemicals and obviously we get our surface water or our treated water from Fort Worth. But the extent of the contaminationis not known until the EPA says the maximum containment level.
By opting out the city would have an opportunity to pursue additional compensation in the future as well as receive money for our own expenses.
Fort Worth's concern is that the cost to treat and to remove these forever chemicals will greatly outweigh the settlement received and the utilities will be forever responsible for the cost.
Willow Park is in a unique situation while we purchase water for Fort Worth we also continue to produce and treat our own water. Currently the chemicals of concern are not showing up on our groundwater but this could change in the future.
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Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are a group of Manufactured Chemicals. Since the 1950s, most Americans have been exposed to PFAS through drinking water, food packaging, stain-resistant fabrics and fire extinguishing foam, among other consumer products, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Because PFAS chemicals accumulate in the environment and people’s bodies rather than break down, they are often called “forever chemicals.” *1
Willow Park Civics Research
• The National Rural Water Association: THE 3M PFAS PUBLIC WATER PROVIDER SETTLEMENT: What You Need to Know
• In Re Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Products Liability Litigation MDL 2873
• Justia
*1 Fort Worth rejects settlement payouts for cancer-causing chemicals in water supply Fort Worth Report, 28 November 2023
Following a Nov. 28 City Council vote, Fort Worth will not participate in two proposed class action settlement agreements with companies that released “forever chemicals” into public water systems across the U.S.
The resolution authorizes the city to file its own lawsuits against manufacturers of synthetic chemicals known as PFAS, which have been used in consumer products since the 1950s. Most Americans have been exposed to PFAS through drinking water, food packaging, stain-resistant fabrics and fire extinguishing foam, among other consumer products, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Because PFAS chemicals accumulate in the environment and people’s bodies rather than break down, they are often called “forever chemicals.” Exposure to high levels of PFAS has been linked to increased risk of cancers, developmental delays in children, decreased fertility and reduced ability to fight infections.
• Saginaw latest North Texas city to opt out of billion-dollar 'forever chemicals' settlements, KERA, 05 December 2023
*2 Text of City Administrator Grime's report during the 28 November 2023 Council Meeting.
PFAs and PFOs [are] listed by the EPA as forever contaminants meaning they'll never go away. Currently there are 29 chemicals on the list that the EPA is testing for and that list could continue to grow as the EPA designates.
These compounds are byproducts of everyday used in items including plastics, paints, gas and oil.
Willow Park has not gone through the official EPA testing but we're scheduled to have some in 2024. We've had some unofficial testing performed by the state and there are currently no signs of the chemicals in the groundwater.
Fort Worth has been through the official testing and some surface water resources were positive for some of the chemicals and obviously we get our surface water or our treated water from Fort Worth. But the extent of the contaminationis not known until the EPA says the maximum containment level.
In other words, the EPA hasn't set the level that you need to eradicate to. This is not expect to happen until the end of 2024 or early 2025.
There's currently a class action lawsuit against both 3M and DuPont and both companies have made settlement offers.
Fort Worth is choosing to opt out of the settlements and has ask those who purchased treated water for them to do so.
Fort Worth has decided this because the settlement prevents utilities from requesting for suing additional compensation. In other words if you opt in you're going to have a release of liability and so whatever you get, you're going to get.
Fort Worth's concern is that the cost to treat and to remove these forever chemicals will greatly outweigh the settlement received and the utilities will be forever responsible for the cost.
Willow Park is in a unique situation while we purchase water for Fort Worth we also continue to produce and treat our own water. Currently the chemicals of concern are not showing up on our groundwater but this could change in the future.
If we opt into the settlement the chances of the city receiving any part of the settlement is very slim and will most likely go to Fort Worth since we purchase our water from them.
By opting out the city would have an opportunity to pursue additional compensation in the future as well as receive money for our own expenses.
Staff would recommend that council opt out and we have two resolutions in the packet.
The first one we would recommend ops both us and Fort Worth [which City Staff recommends], the other resolution will just ops out the city of Willow Park.
• 3M, DuPont defeat massive class action over forever chemicals, Reuters, 28 November 2023
• Rejecting 3M, DuPont PFAS settlements risks decade-long legal fights, judge warns, Reuters, 05 December 2023
• EPA Finally Takes Step to Regulate Forever Chemicals, Journal of Health and Biomedical Law, 15 November 2021
• 'Forever chemicals' stay in the air and water permanently. But scientists have found a new way to destroy them. NBC News 18 August 2022
PFAS chemicals are associated with low birth weight, thyroid disease and an increased risk of certain cancers.
• A solution for cleaning up PFAS, one of the world's most intractable pollutants, Science Daily 05 December 2019
*3 What to do if you’re worried about “forever chemicals” in your drinking water VOX, 07 July 2023. A new study detected PFAS in 45 percent of the country’s tap water supply. Here’s what you can do.
