TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is responding to calls from Tallahassee scientists, citizens and commissioners to investigate PFAS, better known as “forever chemicals,” potentially being spread by the city’s wastewater treatment plan.
In an interview on Wednesday, City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow said he’d encourage DEP to check the City of Tallahassee’s “spray field,” acreage where the city sprays treated wastewater.
In a letter two days ago, DEP said it would implement a “sampling plan” to evaluate potential sources of PFAS in the capital city.
A group of Tallahassee doctors, led by Dr. Ron Saff, believes the chemicals are likely flowing through city facilities and seeping into the groundwater that serves wells in the southern part of Tallahassee and down into unincorporated Woodville.
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On Wednesday, Matlow cautioned that the chemicals don’t originate from the city, but rather from consumer products, fire stations and other sources.
However, while the city’s wastewater treatment plant was cutting-edge at the time, he said it was mostly focused on nutrients and would need to be retrofitted to handle PFAS.
There is another way for homeowners to be safe at the point of consumption: filters. The Tallahassee-based scientists previously said a $15 filter can help, but a $60-70 filter is better.
A letter from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to City Commissioners Jeremy Matlow and Bill Proctor.(WCTV)
In response, DEP wrote in its letter that it would begin expanding its testing of private wells in Woodville, and it would also provide free PFAS filters when issues were identified.
Geologist Fred Kocher said last month that the spray fields are a likely source.
“Given the confirmed connection between the spray field and Wakulla Springs, the presence of PFAS contamination in Woodville along the flow path from the spray field to the springs, and the absence of alternative sources, it is scientifically reasonable to consider the spray fields as a potential contributor,”
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