Greensboro City Council unanimously approved over $200 million for ongoing efforts to remove “forever chemicals” from local drinking water.
The city will pay The Haskell Company roughly $260 million to upgrade Mitchell Water Treatment Plant’s system for treating substances known as PFAS.
Testing has shown the presence of the long-lasting synthetic chemicals in Greensboro drinking sources, including Lake Brandt and Lake Townsend.
At this week’s city council meeting, Greensboro Water Resources Director Mike Borchers compared the new permanent treatment system to a Britta filter.
“These are really large concrete basins. They're filled with basically 15 feet of activated carbon, and the water trickles through," Borchers said. "And we have shown, based on a lot of testing to get here, that that is a very effective technology and will remove it to near non-detect.”
Industry and consumer products have used PFAS since the 1940s. More recently, research has tied "forever chemicals" to negative health effects like cancer and reproductive issues.
In total, Borchers says upgrading both Mitchell and Townsend Water Treatment Plants will cost $338 million.
Improvements are set to be completed by 2029.