Upgrades of Sweeney Plant possible

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.

The chemicals' existence was thrust into public consciousness in June 2017, when the StarNews reported on a study showing the chemical, discharged by the Chemours company at Fayetteville Works about 100 miles upstream from Wilmington, had been found in raw water from the Cape Fear River and finished drinking water from the CFPUA.

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."

September decision

Board members did not make a decision Wednesday, though board member Skip Watkins, a New Hanover County commissioner, said he plans to support the upgrade.

"I do believe we need to follow through with the (carbon filtration) program," he said.

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.

"I think we know we have regulatory gaps. That's how we got here," said Carel Vandermeyden, CFPUA director of engineering.

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.

'Public safety comes first'

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.

"We don't think this should be our customers' expense," Flechtner said of the lawsuit.

"It's regrettable that ratepayers will initially be paying for it," Watkins said. "But public safety comes first."

Tom Newcomb of Wilmington asked the board not to approve the project, saying it should have more evidence that it is necessary.

"You can always say 'no' now and say 'yes' a year from now," he said.

'Other contaminants exist'

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.

"If we can start to reduce our exposure through our drinking water ... then we're going to start down the road to reducing PFASs in our bodies," she said.

DeWitt also answered a question that has been central since the presence of GenX and other chemicals was revealed: should people be concerned about the chemicals entering their bodies?

"Yes, we should," she said.

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.

"Even if the pipe is turned off, the (environment) system is contaminated enough ... that it potentially impacts public utilities like CFPUA," Mead said.

"We continue to find more compounds in the environment," Flechtner said. "The important takeaway ... is that while GenX is down, other contaminants exist."

Reporter Tim Buckland can be reached at 910-343-2217 or Tim.Buckland@StarNewsOnilne.com.