The Environmental Protection Agency set official limits on Wednesday for a group of chemicals, called “PFAS,” in public drinking water.
Shortly after the EPA’s announcement, JXN Water, the third-party manager of Jackson’s drinking water system, put out a press release saying that the utility is in line with the new regulations.
“Unlike many communities across the country that have to address forever chemicals in their drinking water, JXN Water announces that testing of our water revealed that forever chemicals are either not present or present at extremely low levels in both the Pearl River and Jackson’s finished drinking water,” said the utility, which manages the state’s largest drinking water system.
JXN Water posted its test results for PFAS and other contaminants on its website.
For decades, starting around the mid-20th century, manufacturers used the chemicals in products like stain repellents and non-stick cookware. While companies have phased out the use of PFAS after learning about the dangers of exposing them to humans, the chemicals’ unique bonds allow them to persist in the environment for years and years, which is why they’re sometimes called “forever chemicals.”
Public drinking water systems around the country will now have three years to monitor their releases for PFAS, and then five years, or until 2029, to bring PFAS levels under the newly established limits. After that, utilities with PFAS above EPA levels will be in violation. The enforceable limits for PFOA and PFOS, the more common types of PFAS, are now 4 parts per trillion.
In a partnership between Consumer Reports, the Clarion Ledger, Mississippi Public Broadcasting and Mississippi Today, an investigation last year showed there were traces of PFAS in 98% of samples taken around the state. Only one of the 149 samples, from a home in Corinth, showed PFAS levels above the EPA’s new rule.
While clean water advocates argue that no level of PFAS is safe to consumer, others in the water utility world say that the new EPA rule could hurt ratepayers, especially those in small communities. Attorneys and experts who spoke to Mississippi Today said that some utilities in the state aren’t currently in compliance with the PFAS limit, and that the costs of coming into compliance may financially strain smaller utilities that are already struggling to stay afloat.
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