Miami-Dade has forever chemicals in tap water. There's a plan to keep it drinkable

MIAMI — Forever chemicals have found their way into drinking water across the country, including in Miami-Dade, and new research shows that levels are highest in places like Little Havana, Hialeah and Pembroke Pines.

These forever chemicals, also known as PFAS or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, have leached from everything from firefighting foam to waterproof clothing to nonstick cookware and trickled into the aquifer — the source of our drinking water.

And while the tap water in Miami-Dade is regularly tested and meets current safe drinking water standards, new federal standards are set to kick in soon that will drastically lower the amount of PFAS that can safely be included in tap water. Fixing it will be pricey and complicated, but Miami-Dade says it is committed to continue providing safe and clean tap water.

“It’s our mission to provide safe drinking water,” said Virginia Walsh, chief hydrogeologist for the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. “Our full intent is to meet regulatory deadlines.”

Currently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows communities to have up to 70 parts per trillion of the chemicals in tap water, but communities across the nation need to get levels down to four parts per trillion, reflecting growing evidence that even very low levels of exposure may increase the risk of cancer and other long-term health problems.

Research is still ongoing on how much PFAS it takes to harm someone. The EPA is still trying to understand the health effects of low levels of exposure to PFAS over long periods of time, especially in children.

The EPA estimates that the new regulation would “prevent thousands of deaths, and reduce tens of thousands of serious illnesses.”

Miami-Dade has until 2029 to meet the new standards, although the EPA is considering rolling back the deadline to 2031.

How bad is it here?

The new regulations — only four parts per trillion — could be tough to meet.

Florida International University associate professor Natalia Soares Quinete and her graduate student Carolina Cuchimaque Lugo found that 80 to 95% of samples in Miami-Dade exceed those regulatory limits.

By contrast, only about 20% of samples collected in Palm Beach County exceeded those thresholds.

Over five years, researchers collected approximately 72 drinking water samples across 18 Miami-Dade ZIP codes and 75 samples across 22 ZIP codes in Palm Beach County.

“I think the county is doing everything they can. It’s going to be a huge investment to remove those chemicals,” Soares Quinete, associate professor said.

The researchers say contamination hotspots align with airports, military bases, firefighting training facilities and landfills.

The highest amounts of PFAS in the drinking water were in Little Havana, Pembroke Pines, Homestead and Hialeah and Grapeland Heights by the airport. Researchers believe airports are a common PFAS source because they have used PFAS-filled firefighting foam for training and emergency response.

Cuchimaque Lugo, an FIU graduate student, said the team’s ongoing groundwater research aims to better understand how PFAS migrate from the surface into the aquifer and eventually into drinking water supplies.

Counties tackle PFAS problem

Miami-Dade began sampling for PFAS several years ago and is now considering different treatment plans that would be installed at all of its water treatment plants.

Pilot projects are underway at the South Dade Wellfield, Alexander Orr Water Treatment Plant and the Hialeah-Preston Water Treatment Plant.

Walsh said those demonstration projects are nearing completion, with results expected within the next month.

Engineering firms Hazen and Sawyer and Black & Veatch are piloting treatment methods including “granular activated carbon”, ion exchange systems that use special plastic beads to suck up PFAS and reverse osmosis. Reverse osmosis, a process used at the Hialeah plant, produces super clean water by forcing it through a membrane; it can turn saltwater into drinkable water.

But none of these options are cheap. The county doesn’t know how much it will all cost yet.

Broward County has discussed spending more than $350 million in the next few years improving its drinking water infrastructure to meet the new standards, and consultant Carillo Engineers is already designing a pilot test for potential new nanofiltration.

The EPA estimates removing PFAS from drinking water could cost $1.5 billion nationwide every year. Other communities that didn’t wait on the federal government to draft their own rules have already seen higher bills. In a Massachusetts town, rates went up 22%. In Wausau, Wisconsin, they expected rates to rise by $40 a month.

What can you do in the meantime?

Jennifer Messemer-Skold, the communications director for Miami-Dade Water and Sewer, said the department’s stance is that the county’s tap water meets all current requirements and residents don’t need a filter to be drinking high quality water.

“If someone were to get a filter, that’s for tastes or something like that,” she said. ”It may be the taste because they have older plumbing.”

Soares Quinete and Cuchimaque Lugo, who have spent years steeped in the science, said they personally don’t drink directly from the tap because of PFAS concerns.

They suggested using a carbon filter, like in a Brita, which they’ve found removes some of the chemicals. Some plastic water bottles also contain PFAS, so her preference is to filter tap water instead.

“There’s not much place to run from it,” Soares Quinete said.

Her other suggestions to cut down on PFAS exposure include avoiding non-stick pans that leach PFAS into food, spill-resistant carpets and long-lasting cosmetics, like all-day lipstick.