‘Forever chemicals’: CU, Watershed Committee partner to safeguard water amid new threat

Elizabeth Robertson, City Utilities of Springfield’s director of water treatment and supply, is a chemist, but sometimes she’s also a detective.

In November 2022, Robertson’s team began testing for a pernicious pollutant known as PFAS. The acronym stands for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances – industrial chemicals with multiple applications – that are often called “forever chemicals.”

“When they were developed, it was because of those properties – they were hard to break down, waterproof, durable, great for a lot of applications in the industrial and commercial world, but that makes them really terrible for the environment,” Robertson said. “They were made for our benefit, but it just so happens they have this negative side effect.”

That negative side effect is that they break down slowly, and as the Environmental Protection Agency explains on its PFAS fact sheet, they are found in the blood of people and animals worldwide, as well as in water, air and soil. The chemicals are found in so many consumer and industrial products that they are challenging to study.

Not long into her team’s investigation, Robertson said they found PFAS in the James River. That led to an investigation of its tributaries.

“We followed the breadcrumb trail,” she said.

Simultaneously, Minnesota-based 3M (NYSE: MMM), a global company with a Springfield factory at 3211 E. Chestnut Expressway, began to make the news as communities across the country sued it for allegedly polluting water sources with PFAS. Even so, Robertson said, the investigation focused on waterways.

“We did not start at 3M and work our way down,” Robertson said. “We started with the James River, which led us to Jones Spring, which is less than 2 miles from the 3M factory.”

It turns out that 3M had logged incidents with PFAS chemicals with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

“They did not get in touch with us, but they reported something to MDNR,” said Robertson. “They did not consider the fact that with the karst typography and groundwater system, they would have impacted our sources.”

This year, the EPA passed a rule limiting future PFAS levels in drinking water to 4 parts per trillion.

A news release from City Utilities states, “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 the past year, CU says it has detected a range of 3.1 to 16.0 ppt in the James River.

Robertson said she remembered waking up one morning and opening her email to find a test result from Pearson Creek, which is fed by Jones Spring. It revealed levels of PFAS at 39 ppt.

“I read it, and I was like – oh, my gosh,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it.”

Robertson said she put a monitoring plan to work.

“It’s been pretty consistent for the last several months coming out of Jones Spring and Pearson Creek,” she said. “I haven’t noticed a decrease yet, but they’re forever chemicals – they’re made for durability.

“I don’t know what the half-life is there or how long it’s going to take to break them down in the environment, but it’s going to be a very long time.”

CU sues
On June 3, CU filed a lawsuit against 3M in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri Southern Division to allege violations of the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

“3M discharged and is discharging various pollutants through its stormwater outfalls and into groundwater in violation of its federal and state discharge permits and the CWA, and such illegally discharged pollutants are presenting an imminent and substantial danger to human health and the environment in violation of RCRA,” the lawsuit reads.

A statement provided to Springfield Business Journal by 3M noted the Springfield plant is a key part of the company’s global operations.

According to SBJ list research, the company opened in 1967 and employs some 485 workers in the manufacture of tapes, adhesives and sealants. The Springfield plant spans 420,000 square feet on 100 acres.

The company’s statement says only five 3M sites continue to manufacture PFAS as a commercial product, and the Springfield plant is not one of them.

“We are committed to compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and we will continue to work to address legacy PFAS,” the statement says. “We announced in 2000 that we would phase out of manufacturing PFOA and PFOS, and we have done so worldwide. We also announced in 2022 that we would exit all PFAS manufacturing by the end of 2025 and are on schedule to do so.”

The company commented on the CU lawsuit as well.

“As the science and technology of PFAS, societal and regulatory expectations and our expectations of ourselves have evolved, so has how we manage PFAS,” the statement reads. “3M will address PFAS litigation by defending itself in court or through negotiated resolutions, all as appropriate.”

In April, a federal district judge approved a separate class-action settlement through which 3M will pay about $10.3 billion over 13 years to more than 11,000 public water systems for PFAS contamination.

Protecting water together
CU is not alone in its efforts to protect the local water supply. For 40 years, the utility has partnered with the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks Inc.

Mike Kromrey, executive director of the Watershed Committee, said because of the region’s karst landscape, which includes soluble rock types and a ground that is pocked by sinkholes, caves and springs, the region’s water supply is similar to a system of pipes, rather than the filters that would be comparable in other topographies.

“Everything’s connected,” he said. “Whatever enters the ground will likely show up somewhere else.”

Along with the city of Springfield and Greene County, CU serves as sponsor of the Watershed Committee, which leverages that funding by obtaining grants with CU’s scientific contributions providing a needed match. All are focused on protecting drinking water and keeping rivers and streams clean for wildlife and recreation.

“It’s important to keep a holistic view of clean water and healthy rivers in our mind, because at the end of the day, we all live downstream,” Kromrey said.

Kromrey described the drinking water supply as resilient.

“If Fellows Lake becomes low, we’re able to pull water from Stockton Lake,” he said. “Thanks to many years of focus on a resilient water supply system, we’re in good shape.”

To address the PFAS contamination, CU’s Blackman Water Treatment Plant is pulling in water from both Fellows Lake and the James River to create a percentage blend and protect drinking water. PFAS have not been detected in Fellows Lake.

Kromrey noted the resilient supply comes at a cost.

“As soon as we turn on the switch to pump water from Stockton, that’s a big, expensive pump,” he said.

We’re lucky here, according to Kromrey.

“In the water world, you definitely want your options, and we have been pretty unique in that we have so many sources to protect us against drought or possible contamination,” he said.

The Watershed Committee focuses on nonpoint source pollution and source water quality, Kromrey said, and works to reduce agricultural and urban runoff and to reinforce stream banks.

“A focus on long-term water quality is very important, and that’s the niche that the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks serves,” he said.

Kromrey cited recent SBJ reporting that showed the Springfield region as the fastest-growing area of the state, and that adds even more urgency to the need to protect the region’s water supply.

“It’s important for us to sharpen our focus and think about new ways to address this,” he said. “Hats off to Elizabeth and her team for being proactive and taking action on behalf of the community.”