Sunday, August 6, 2023–3:51 p.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
Design work continues for Rome’s new ‘reverse osmosis’ water treatment facility, which will be able to fully remove harmful chemicals from the drinking water supply.
The facility is being paid for with funds from a lawsuit filed by the city against carpet manufacturers, chemical companies, and others that will pay for the new facility that will remove PFAS and other chemicals from the local water supply. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are widely used to make carpets and other items stain resistant. The chemicals have been linked to numerous adverse health impacts.
Rome Water and Sewer Services Director Mike Hackett told the water and sewer committee Thursday that the design phase is about 40 percent complete.
“It’s a design process that is somewhat in flux,” he said. “We’re developing the design, but along the way, we have to check it to see what type of cost impact different decisions have. We’re making adjustments and ultimately we will end up with a design that will be about as efficient as it can be from engineering, operations, and contractor constructability standpoints.”
Even with the remaining design and construction, Hackett believes they can still meet the 2026 deadline.
In March, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced new proposed legal limits for PFAS at just four parts per trillion. Those regulations are expected to be finalized by the end of this year.
The money from the settlements, an estimated $159 million dollars at this point, is expected to be enough to cover the cost of the new water treatment facility that will be located between the Rome Community Center and DFCS buildings on Riverside Parkway.
The city had implemented a water rate increase to pay for the reverse osmosis treatment if the legal action was not successful. As a result of the settlements, City of Rome Water customers will see their rates rolled back to where they were on December 30, 2018. That rollback will take effect in September and the average customer will see savings on their bills of around $10 to $15.
Rome also facing deadline regarding EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule
In the aftermath of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published revisions to its Lead and Copper Rule in January of 2021, which includes a lead service line inventory. The LSLI must be submitted to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division by Oct. 16, 2024.
According to Rome Water and Sewer Services Director Mike Hackett, for any utilities undertaking what must be done for the lead and copper rules, one challenge is identifying all the lead and copper service lines. That involves digging down on the line, and visually inspecting it to see what’s there. Hackett added that Rome is ahead of the curve.
“We’ve been able to efficiently do that through the meter change-out program that we have going on,” he said. “It basically piggybacks on that project to inspect the service lines. That alone, according to 120Water, has put us ahead of many other communities.”
120Water is an advisory group that assists water programs across the county. They are now the new administrator for the EPD’s lead and copper rule program.
Other requirements of the rule include a tier one sample list based on the LSLI, the performing of sampling for designated periods, the sampling of a minimum of 20 percent of school and childcare facilities per year, and the notification of customers within 24 hours if sample results are above 15 micrograms per liter.