Water utility checking for potentially dangerous chemical in Carolinas, other states
A national utility corporation that operates small water systems across South Carolina says it will begin testing drinking water for a group of toxins that have caused increasing concern about their effects on people’s health.
Corix Utilities, the parent company of the Blue Granite Water Co. of South Carolina., plans regular testing for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances at 365 of its water systems across the country, even though the federal government doesn’t require routine testing, Corix officials said this week.
Relatively few utilities are known to test routinely for the toxins, commonly referred to as PFAS. Some utilities in South Carolina have told state regulators they plan to do more testing, but the law doesn’t require them to report the results, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Blue Granite, formerly Carolina Water Service, has committed to testing in South Carolina under a broader plan to upgrade the company’s often-criticized water service. The company, which also owns sewer systems in South Carolina, was the subject of more environmental enforcement cases from the early 1990s to 2013 than any other company, government or person in South Carolina, The State reported in 2013.
Catherine Heigel, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Corix, said the testing program is part of an effort to watch for PFAS in water systems Corix operates from the Carolinas to Alaska. The company provides water and sewer service in 20 states, including North Carolina and Tennessee. In South Carolina, the company serves water to about 30,000 people from 105 individual water utilities. Many of those utilities are in the Columbia, Rock Hill and Anderson areas.
“We are testing every single water source nationally,’’ Heigel said in an interview this week with The State. “It’s going to take us a little bit of time to get that done. It’s a big endeavor.’’
Testing will be launched at all Corix systems in 2020 and 2021, Blue Granite spokesman Dave Wilson said.
PFAS and related compounds are believed to cause an array of illnesses for people who regularly drink water tainted by these materials. Research indicates the contaminants can cause developmental delays in children, liver and kidney ailments, and cancer, federal agencies say. Researchers found high levels had built up in alligators in South Carolina and Florida, according to a 2016 study.
Several state legislators said they’re glad to hear Blue Granite will test for PFAS since DHEC isn’t doing it or requiring utilities to test.
“It’s the right thing,’’ said Rep. JA Moore, a Democrat from the Charleston area, who has introduced a bill requiring DHEC to regulate PFAS. “The problem is that we need DHEC to be doing this. I applaud (Blue Granite) for doing it voluntarily, but we need to make it mandatory. It needs to be something that is required. They can do as much or little as they want. Public health is not something that should be a voluntary thing.’’
Moore and state Sen. Wes Climer, R-York, said Blue Granite needs to make good on its pledge, particularly since it has had past troubles.
“Anything Blue Granite can do to improve the quality of water they deliver to their customers is good,’’ Climer said. “But this is a company that’s been saying these kinds of things for a generation.’’
PFAS and related compounds, including PFOS, were once produced by the 3M Corp. and DuPont. They were developed for use in non-stick cooking pans, plastics, hair products and firefighting foam. The latter has drawn major national attention because of contamination documented recently at military bases, including Shaw Air Force Base and a handful of other bases in South Carolina. A recently released movie, “Dark Waters,’’ chronicles the discovery of PFAS on a West Virginia farm years ago.
So far, the Department of Health and Environmental Control has been reluctant to check neighborhoods near military bases to determine if PFAS have seeped into drinking water. Heigel said her utility tested a neighborhood near Shaw Air Force base in March 2019 to determine if PFAs registered in drinking water.
Blue Granite’s tests at the Oakland water system near Shaw Air Force Base did not turn up evidence of PFAS. But Heigel, a former DHEC director, said Blue Granite will do more checking at Oakland through its regular testing program.
“It was important that we do that given the proximity to a known source,’’ Heigel said.
Recent tests conducted for a Charleston newspaper, The Post and Courier, found evidence that elevated levels of a PFA substance were in a trailer park’s drinking water near Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter County. DHEC now plans to test the water.
Testing for PFAS in South Carolina and across the country is not routine because the federal government has no requirements to limit PFAs in water, according to DHEC and the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group.
DHEC had tests done in about 500 water systems over two years beginning in 2013, finding all but one water system was free of PFA pollution. Columbia conducted special testing two years ago, but did not find PFAS in the capital city’s waterworks, one of the state’s largest.
State regulators are discussing plans to address PFAS more aggressively in South Carolina, officials said.
“The department is working collaboratively with our state’s water systems as well as a technical advisory committee to implement a drafted statewide strategy for addressing PFOS/PFOA,’’ DHEC spokeswoman Laura Renwick said in an email. Renwick said the strategy will be available “in coming weeks.’’
Heigel said her company favors establishing a pollution standard for PFAs in South Carolina, like one proposed by Moore. His bill includes a provision that the state set a drinking water limit for PFAS, which would require systems to keep the water clean or face the threat of state enforcement action and fines. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency now only has a health advisory about PFAs.
“We are in favor of having a state standard, yes,’’ Heigel said.
The company’s testing program in South Carolina and nationally will first focus on water systems closest to potential sources, including military bases and industrial plants. The company is using a geographic information system to determine where to test first, Heigel said.
Heigel said she learned about the potential hazards of PFAS and related compounds while serving as DHEC director from 2015 to 2017. During her tenure at DHEC, Heigel met with then-U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy to discuss strategies for dealing with PFAS.
Blue Granite’s testing may come with a cost to customers. The company will seek state permission to recover its costs for testing. Any rate increase must be approved by the S.C. Public Service Commission. Heigel said she hopes the PSC will approve the company’s request, but Blue Granite will check for the chemicals, regardless, she said.
The company is currently seeking a water rate increase for customers, but that rate increase is not for testing. It includes upgrades in pipes and equipment.
This story was originally published January 15, 2020 at 10:35 AM with the headline "Water utility checking for potentially dangerous chemical in Carolinas, other states."
