TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. — Water is life, but in Temple Terrace, water is a source of worry right now.
Laura Bo and neighbor Tara McDoniel-Brown are worried after reading a report from March 2025, which was recently obtained by some homeowners and posted to the Temple Terrace Bulletin Board page on Facebook.
“I was blown away,” said Bo.
WATCH: 'Forever chemicals' found at concerning levels in Temple Terrace water
The 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.
“I understand we can’t get rid of all of it, but what we can get rid of, let’s work on that and get rid of that,” said McDoniel-Brown.
Tuesday, they will attend a Temple Terrace city council meeting to demand change.
“The mission is simple: they need to fix it. And they need to fix it stat,” said Bo.
In an interview with ABC Action News, Temple Terrace Mayor Andy Ross said people have a right to want change and be concerned.
“Our families are drinking the same water everybody else is drinking, so it is concerning. We obviously would like that number to be zero,” he said.
However, the mayor wants action, not overreaction.
Ross said there is still a lot the city needs to study and understand before committing to a potentially expensive repair.
“We want to react, but we have to do it intelligently in accordance with the science and in accordance with, you know, the best protocols,” he said. “I would like people to understand that we are not asleep at the wheel — that nobody’s trying to hide anything. We learned of this right before you learned of it, and we’re still learning what the full implications of this are.”
According to Ross, the city is already studying its water infrastructure and will add forever chemicals to the scope of that study.
Those answers, however, likely won’t eliminate the community’s worry or the concern being raised by both Bo and McDoniel-Brown.
“The message is that we’re not backing down,” said McDoniel-Brown.
The Tuesday night city council meeting is set to begin at 6 p.m.
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