TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. — A consultant hired by the City of Temple Terrace says it’s working diligently to tackle the concerning chemicals found in the city's drinking water.
However, during a Monday night town hall meeting, some members of the public expressed some skepticism and concern.
“I’m concerned about the restaurants and the food and beverage purveyors,” said one resident.
WATCH: In crowded town hall meeting, consultant lays out plan to tackle concerning chemicals in Temple Terrace water
“My concern is for my health, because I have multiple autoimmune disorders,” added another.
A recently discovered report from March shows the results of a test that found per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — which are also known as forever chemicals — at higher than recommended levels in city water.
One particular forever chemical, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), was measured at a level almost five times higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s max contaminant level of 4.0 parts per trillion (ppt).
The chemicals, which are also in everyday products used for cooking, food packaging, and personal care, can cause cancer and other ailments, according to the EPA.
Homeowners like Jay Cortright feel like the city should have done more sooner.
“I thought they were on top of this,” she said.
However, in the Monday meeting, City Manager Carlos Baia said the problem is not unique to Temple Terrace. He said the forever chemicals have been detected by more than 9,000 public utilities all across the country, as illustrated by an Environmental Working Group map.
That’s no excuse to some people who attended the meeting.
“It may be national, but I care about Temple Terrace,” said one of them, Tara McDoniel-Brown. “We’re talking about cooking, cleaning, animals. Water is our life. And it should be safe.”
The city is working to fix the problem, and it has said it’s working as fast as possible.
CHA Consulting, a consulting firm the city hired to tackle the PFAS issue, spoke during the meeting at length. An engineer shared a rough timeline of how his team will address the problem.
Water testing has begun. CHA is already taking steps toward a short-term solution, and it will study potential long-term solutions over the next two or three months.
However, all of those fixes will cost money. A long-term solution alone could cost anywhere from $10 million to $60 million, depending on which option the city selects.
Cortright thinks decreasing the PFAS contamination is worth the expense.
“It’s the reason for government,” she said. “I don’t need to government to make sure we have fireworks on the Fourth of July. I don’t need government to make sure we have various festivals. I appreciate it, but not at the expense of drinking water that can cause cancer and other serious illnesses.”
Years ago, multiple cities sued 3M, DuPont, and two other companies attributed with creating the PFAS chemicals.
After years of legal fighting, 3M agreed to a roughly $10.3 billion settlement in Apr. 2024. Though the settlement was not considered an admission of liability, the company said the settlement represented an important step toward “exiting all PFAS manufacturing by the end of 2025.”
DuPont and its subsidiary companies agreed to a $1.185 billion settlement in June 2023.
In the Monday meeting, Temple Terrace’s city attorney said the city has engaged three law firms and is in the process of seeking out potential settlement funds.
The city said it has also created a website where future updates about the PFAS contamination will be posted. Multiple residents have criticized the city’s communications strategy up to this point.
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