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White City hears PFAS test results; officials weigh county connection, redrill and filtration options
Summary
A consultant presented multi-year PFAS/PFOA test results showing PFOA readings above the regulatory reference cited by the consultant, and the council discussed three response options — connecting to Bartow County water (estimated cost ~$330,000), costly filtration, or redrilling Well 5 — with an estimated 9–12 month design-to-completion timeline.
Jay Renew of Sweitzer Engineering told the White City Council on Feb. 2 that multi-year sampling of municipal wells has shown measurable PFOA and PFAS levels and that the readings for Wells 1 and 2 consistently exceeded the regulatory benchmark he cited.
"PFOA range was from 20–39 nanograms per liter with an average of 27," Renew said of Well 1; he reported similar ranges for Well 2 (20–33 ng/L, average about 26 ng/L). Renew said PFAS measurements at the sites ranged from nondetectable up to the single digits in nanograms per liter and that hazard-index values he calculated were around federal comparison levels.
Renew told the council that connecting to Bartow County water would be the fastest option and estimated "about $330,000.00 for everything," but that it would likely require a rate increase for city customers. He said filtration is technically possible but "very expensive," and that redrilling Well 5 was being explored because that well has shown lower PFOA levels in the available samples. Renew estimated a 9–12 month timeline from design to completion for a connection or well project and said rural communities have a compliance horizon to 2031.
Councilmembers pressed Renew on how the hazard index was calculated and on operating costs for any filtration system; Renew said he did not have full operating-budget figures available at the meeting but would provide them later. Mayor Curtis Powell said the city would consider grant funding to cover costs where eligible.
The consultant also noted the city had conducted regulatory EPD samples and that some wells had multiple samples spanning 2023–2025. Council discussion focused on balancing speed, cost and long-term reliability, with several members expressing concern about potential rate impacts on residents.
Next steps identified in the presentation included obtaining detailed cost estimates for a county connection, a redrill cost estimate for Well 5, and operating-cost figures for filtration systems; the council did not adopt any immediate formal action during the presentation.
