JONESBORO, Ga. — Clayton County is eyeing improvements in its water treatment system to remove trace amounts of chemical compounds that have apparently been part of the background here and elsewhere for years.
Clayton’s water system serves thousands of customers producing what its CEO says has been healthy tap water for years, much of it sourced from the Flint River. But recently, government regulators have found that this and numerous other water systems have trace amounts of compounds called PFAs, or polyfluoalkyl substances.
"You ask me if I drink it? Yes, I do drink the water," chuckled H. Bernard Franks, who runs Clayton’s water system. He said the sources of the chemicals is still under investigation.
Many PFAs come from industrial sites. And though he’s not saying there’s a link, the source of the Flint River is a spring located under a runway at Hartsfield Jackson airport.
"Water goes through the system, wetness system, goes through our treatment plants, and there are things in the water that you're not able to completely remove until you change more of your processes," Franks said.
Franks said changing the processes will likely cost a half billion dollars or more just for Clayton County. Other water systems are gauging similarly eye-opening costs to remove the chemicals, according to the EPA.
"And of course we’re not the producers, we’re not contributors. We’re just to clean up the mess so to speak," Franks said.
Though there’s no evidence water-borne PFAs have harmed anybody here in Clayton County or elsewhere, it’s a fairly new field of study – and many water systems still haven’t reported to the EPA the results of their PFA tests.