Page 18 - Wayne Carl News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

GALESBURG — City officials are working on a plan of action after two water samples collected at its water treatment plant last November and December showed levels of polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, beyond the state of Illinois' tentative guidance level. The Illinois and federal EPA have not officially set safety guidelines for how much of the contaminants can be found in water. Here’s what you need to know about the PFAS in Galesburg’s water supply, and what is being done to address them. What are PFAS? PFAS have various forms, including PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and other chemicals, wit...

Neither the Illinois EPA nor the U.S. EPA has yet developed enforceable drinking water standards for PFAS. However, the Illinois EPA has developed “Draft Guidance Levels” for the small number of PFAS for which there is appropriate information to do so. Draft Guidance Levels are intended to be protective of all people consuming the water over a lifetime of exposure Currently, the EPA is gathering data in all the states in order to be able to determine a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) and treatment options. As part of that process, the City of Galesburg was notified in September 2020, tha...

Listen to the story The situation began in March when the city instituted a moratorium on water service shut-offs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The moratorium was intended as a humanitarian measure. It meant residents were not being threatened by shutoffs. But, as water faucets continued to flow, so did the bills. And once the city lifted the moratorium, late fees resumed – and so did shutoffs. Public Works Director Wayne Carl said, “The city lifted the moratorium in August or September, and that created a lot of controversy because we started shutting people off in a pandemic, but the id...