“WILMINGTON — The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) may move to spend $46 million to upgrade the Sweeney Water Treatment Plant to filter — as much as possible — contaminants like GenX and other material that the Wilmington plant can’t filter from water drawn from the Cape Fear River.

‘The question we need to answer is … should we do more to protect the health of our current and future customers?’ CFPUA executive director Jim Flechtner said during opening remarks of a CFPUA board workshop held Wednesday morning at Halyburton Park. ‘I would say the answer is yes.’

The cost would ultimately be borne by ratepayers, Flechtner said, adding that the utility should do what it can to address GenX and other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — including to upgrade the Sweeney plant with a granular-activated carbon system to remove contaminants…

Flechtner said the utility authority could upgrade Sweeney — the primary source of drinking water for most of New Hanover County — with carbon filtration that would reduce or eliminate contaminants like GenX. He said it was the most direct action the utility can take to address the matter, given that it can’t close down Chemours, which was spun off from the chemical giant DuPont, or enact new drinking water regulations.

‘We are not a regulatory agency,’ he said. ‘We’re a utility.’ …

Flechtner said the board will be formally asked to decide whether to upgrade the plant at its Sept. 12 meeting. He said it would take about 32 months to design and build the upgrade.

‘We can’t rely on Chemours and DuPont to control discharges,’ he said. ‘We tried that and it didn’t work.’

Wednesday’s session followed Tuesday’s meeting in Fayetteville hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where EPA officials said they are continuing to work with state and local officials to address GenX and other contaminants…

Vandermeyden said the proposed system of granular-activated carbon, at a cost of $46 million, would be effective at removing GenX and PFAS from drinking water at a lower cost than a reverse-osmosis system, which was estimated to cost $150 million. The carbon system would also have a lower annual operating cost than the reverse osmosis system, according to CFPUA staff.

Vandermeyden said carbon would also come without other side effects — a reverse-osmosis system would require discharging concentrated PFAS removed from drinking water into the Cape Fear River…

John McLean, CFPUA chief financial officer, said that installing the system would result in increased costs of up to $4.64 per month for customers — something he said could be eliminated should CFPUA’s lawsuits against Chemours be successful…

Dr. Jamie DeWitt, professor of toxicology at East Carolina University, said people are exposed to a variety of PFAS through several sources, including the air and water…

DeWitt said exposure to GenX can produce similar adverse health effects — particularly liver toxicity — as other chemicals even at smaller doses.

‘GenX produces the same kind of health effects as PFOAs and PFASs,’ she said.

She said studies of similar chemicals in Ohio and West Virginia found a link between the compounds and cancer, elevated cholesterol, thyroid disease and other health problems.

Ralph Mead, professor of chemistry at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, has been testing for PFAS contamination on a weekly basis since November. He told the audience that GenX and other contaminants have been entering the environment for decades and that Chemours’ stopping the discharge will not solve the problem.”

Read the full article by Tim Buckland