Columbia, South Carolina – The City of Columbia has initiated legal action against multiple companies due to high levels of persistent chemicals, known as forever chemicals, detected in its water supply. The lawsuit involves over 40 entities, including textile manufacturers, chemical producers, and other industrial businesses, accusing them of contaminating the city’s water with synthetic substances called PFAs. These chemicals are linked to cancer and other serious health problems.
The legal complaint alleges that these companies either produced, distributed, utilized, or discharged PFAs near the sources of Columbia’s drinking water or contributed to the PFAs contamination at the city’s wastewater treatment facilities. The lawsuit highlights that the PFAs levels in the Broad River and Saluda River surpass safety limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency. Columbia sources up to 150 million gallons of drinking water daily from the Broad River and Lake Murray, serving over 370,000 people. Companies named in the lawsuit include Milliken & Company, 3M, and Carolina Plating Company.
City officials argue that Columbia has suffered ongoing harm due to the reckless and irresponsible actions of these companies, which have polluted the water with PFAs through various means such as manufacturing, use, and disposal.
Should the city win this lawsuit, it aims to secure potentially hundreds of millions of dollars. This funding would support the purchase and installation of technology to filter out the harmful chemicals from the water supply.
