(KTTS News) — Springfield City Utilities is taking steps to addes so-called “Forever Chemicals” and responding to proposed regulations by the EPA to remove lead pipes from water systems.
CU says began testing its water supply for PFAS in November 2022.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are man-made chemicals found in everyday items like fire-fighting foams, popcorn bags, cleaning products, non-stick cookware, and stain repellent carpeting.
Over the last year, CU detected a range of 3.1 to 16.0 ppt PFOS, which is a chemical in the PFAS family, in the James River.
In response, CU has implemented an operational policy to blend water from the James River with Fellows Lake to stay below the proposed Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 4 ppt PFOS.
CU is also working with an engineering consulting firm to explore three long-term removal options, including granular activated carbon, ion exchange, and reverse osmosis.
CU says it does not have lead pipes in its territory, but it is working on a plan to help customers with lead pipes on their property.
CU recently signed a water supply agreement with several other utilities for future considerations to use water from Stockton Lake.
Press Release
As part of our ongoing commitment to water quality and environmental responsibility, City Utilities is actively addressing potential health concerns associate with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “Forever Chemicals,” and responding to proposed regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
At the same time, we’re taking steps to ensure the safety of our drinking water in light of upcoming changes to the Lead and Copper Rule regulation.
PFAS “Forever Chemicals”
PFAS is a group of man-made compounds found in everyday items like fire-fighting foams, popcorn bags, cleaning products, non-stick cookware, stain repellent carpeting and many more.
While the full impact of health effects to humans is still unknown, concerns have prompted the EPA to propose new regulations limiting some PFAS levels in drinking water to no more than 4 parts per trillion (ppt).
To put this in perspective, 1 ppt is equivalent to one drop of water in 20 Olympic-size swimming pools or equivalent to one second in 32,000 years.
In an effort to be proactive, City Utilities began testing its water supply for PFAS in November 2022.
Over the last year, CU detected a range of 3.1 to 16.0 ppt PFOS, which is a chemical in the PFAS family, in the James River.
In response, CU has implemented an operational policy to blend water from the James River with Fellows Lake to stay below the proposed Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 4 ppt PFOS.
CU is also working with an engineering consulting firm to explore three long-term removal options, including granular activated carbon, ion exchange, and reverse osmosis.
Lead and Copper Rule
Simultaneously, the EPA is proposing new rules with the goal of removing all lead-service lines under the control of the utility within 10-years.
Dating back to the 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendment, the regulations prohibit the use of pipes, solder, or flux that are not “lead-free” in public water systems.
Subsequent amendments in 1989 and 1991, including the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR), aimed to remove all lead from drinking water, monitor for lead, provide corrosion control treatment, and promote public education.
In 2021, the Lead and Copper Rule Revision (LCRR) was introduced, focusing on improving lead sampling, corrosion control, specific testing in schools and childcare facilities, expanding public education and outreach, requiring a public inventory of lead service lines, and initiating more lead service line replacements.
While not yet final, EPA is proposing a requirement that water utilities like City Utilities must replace all utility-owned lead service lines within 10 years, with limited exceptions.
In some cases, utility-owned galvanized service lines will also need to be replaced. Additionally, City Utilities must work with customers to identify customer-owned service lines.
City Utilities has already begun the identification process of utility-owned service lines and there are no known lead service lines in our system.
Additionally, sample testing showed our water supply has less than 5 parts per billion of lead in accordance with the LCR 90th percentile-which is far below the national limit of 15 parts per billion.
However, there are more than 86,000 customer-owned service lines in City Utilities’ service territory that still must be identified.
The customer-owned service lines reach from the property line to the residence. City Utilities is actively developing a plan to work with customers to comply with this regulation.
For more information on how the proposed revisions may impact customer-owned service lines, see this factsheet from the EPA of this list of FAQ’s from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
Current Water Quality
At City Utilities, excellence is the standard.
The drinking water we provide to our customers is no exception.
For the past 23 years in a row, Blackman and Fulbright Water Treatment Plants received the American Water Works Association’s Partnership for Safe Water Director’s Award in water quality achievement – an honor that less than 1% of all treatment plants in the United States receive annually.
Our water supply is regularly tested and monitored for safety. In just the last year, 141,000 tests were completed on 13,000 samples.
Again and again, our water supply not only meets but exceeds all regulations for water quality.
Springfield’s Water Supply
City Utilities maintains and operates Springfield’s water system for more than 84,000 homes and businesses.
Springfield’s drinking water comes from three lakes, two reservoirs, a river, two wells, and a spring.
The lakes are McDaniel and Fellows, with additional water being pumped from Stockton Lake to Fellows Lake.
On December 1, 2023, the Board of Public Utilities took steps to secure water for the needs of future generations when it approved an agreement expressing City Utilities’ intent join several other utilities and buy future water reallocations from Stockton Lake through the Southwest Missouri Joint Water Utility Commission.
This commitment to diverse water sources helps ensure a continuous supply of high-quality water for our customers for generations to come.
