Wilmington City Council passed a series of ordinances Thursday to clean up the city’s water supply.
The measures move up to $17 million in funding to tackle PFAS and lead levels in drinking water.
That’s up to $7 million to remove PFAS, or forever chemicals, from the water supply and up to $10 million to replace lead pipes in the water system.
Councilmember Coby Owens joined as a co-sponsor for several of the ordinances discussed at Thursday’s Council meeting.
“PFAS is extremely toxic to human health,” Owens said. “It causes issues such as cancer… It also can suppress your immune system as well too. So again, I'm glad to see that we are investing in projects like this.”
PFAS exposure may lead to decreased fertility in pregnant women, developmental delays in children and increased cholesterol levels, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The ordinance targeting PFAS was put in place in part to bring the city into compliance with the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation, which gives public water systems until 2029 to comply with Maximum Contaminant Levels.
That compliance deadline could be extended to 2031, according to the EPA.
“With the current compliance date of 2029, states and water systems are struggling with the timeframes to complete the pilot testing, development of construction plans, and building the necessary treatment improvement,” the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators executive director Alan Roberson said.
Councilmembers also discussed the importance of addressing old lead pipes still in use throughout the city.
Children are especially susceptible to lead poisoning. They can absorb four to five times as much lead as adults from an ingested dose, according to the World Health Organization.
The project targeting lead exposure aims to replace four to five miles of cast iron water pipes.
Councilmember Latisha Bracey was one voice in favor of the upgrades.
“This is how the city keeps our water safe and clean,” Bracey said. “So these are very important projects that have to happen, some because of federal mandates but also because of the age of our infrastructure. And it's a necessity for us to really invest this money to update our system.”
Councilmember Christian Willauer added these are important projects to be proactive with, as maintenance costs for unexpected water main breaks can be steep.
“I also just want to underline how important this kind of project is,” Willauer said. “I think that this funding to replace the water mains is very important because I think all of us have seen the impact on our streets, on our neighborhoods, on, you know, downtown neighborhoods when these water mains break, and they can break at any time, so the old ones need to be replaced.”
Councilmember Michelle Harlee sponsored the water-centered ordinances.
“I also wanted to mention that there [were] many calls and meetings regarding making sure that these ordinances and the work that we’re doing was definitely important, and understanding why we were spending so much money,” Harlee said.
Councilmembers approved Harlee’s package of ordinances 8-0 with five absences.
