TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Tampa Bay Water officials said a new settlement will help them keep drinking water safe across three counties.

The law firm representing Tampa Bay Water announced an estimated $21 million settlement in the class action lawsuit against manufacturers of PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.”

Hillsborough County Commissioner and Tampa Bay Water Chairman Harry Cohen said, “We have found some sites that are about, right at the level that is going to be the cap starting in 2031.”

Tampa Bay Water officials said PFAS are manmade compounds widely used since the 1940s.

They said it is not uncommon to find low PFAS amounts in drinking water sources because they are slow to break down when they enter the environment.

“We don’t use these products to actually disinfect or clean the water,” Cohen said. “It’s more that, if there’s a fire that’s put out with these products and it rains the next day, the water runoff will find its way into the water supply.”

Attorney Augie Ribeiro said, in 2020, Tampa Bay Water joined a lawsuit against manufacturers, sellers and PFAS distributors to protect Tampa Bay residents from the potential cost of removing forever chemicals from the drinking water sources and system.

With a new lawsuit settlement, Tampa Bay Water will get $21 million to keep its water safe for daily use.

“The decision made by Tampa Bay Water to protect millions of residents was huge,” Riberio said. “Why? Because they’ve been on this issue, they’ve been transparent about this issue.”

“Tampa Bay Water helped lead the national settlement and a national awareness,” he continued.

3M, a settling defendant in the lawsuit, sent 8 On Your Side the following statement:

“In June 2023, 3M entered into a broad class resolution to support PFAS remediation for U.S.-based public water suppliers that detect PFAS at any level or may do so in the future. This agreement will benefit public water systems nationwide that provide drinking water to a vast majority of Americans without the need for further litigation by or on behalf of public water systems. Further, 3M announced at the end of 2022 that it would exit all PFAS manufacturing by the end of 2025.”

3M

Tampa Bay Water is responsible for Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties.

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