DAYTON — The City of Dayton has filed a lawsuit to protect its drinking water, claiming that forever chemicals are leaking into its supply.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, the lawsuit is designed to protect city water well fields.
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Dayton has led the way in protecting water supplies for four decades, but they estimate that protecting against forever chemicals spilled at Wright-Patterson will cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
“We anticipate a $350 million project at the end of the day,” Aaron Zonin said.
Zonin is the water department’s deputy director.
He said City Commissioners just approved $22 million as a first step of defense against forever chemicals and to meet EPA guidelines.
“And what that does is that will include some demolition in addition to actually equipment ordering,” Zonin said.
The city claims the PFAS contamination is linked to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Base leaders told News Center 7 that a fire suppression system overpressurized and foam containing PFAS, or forever chemicals, escaped.
The city maintains that the base clean-up efforts since 2015 are not enough.
The chemicals are migrating, leading the city to shut down the pumps near the Huffman Dam.
City officials noted the base moved quickly to secure funding from Congress for clean-up and protection.
The lawsuit states that, “WPAFB has taken no steps to stop or limit a massive plume of PFAS-contaminate groundwater from continuing to migrate from the Base’s property into the City’s wellfield and water supply.”
Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein provided a statement regarding the lawsuit on Thursday.
“The City of Dayton has filed additional claims with the federal government to recover costs associated with PFAS contamination originating from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. This contamination, primarily from PFAS-containing firefighting foam, entered Dayton’s drinking water supply. Since discovering it in 2017, the City has spent millions to protect public health while working with state and federal partners. These actions are part of a long-standing effort to ensure safe drinking water for Dayton residents and businesses. Dayton will now need to spend over $300,000,000 to build an end-of-pipe treatment system to remove the PFAS contamination and meet the new U.S. EPA regulations that go into effect in 2029.
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a critical economic engine for the region, and the City values its partnership with the base. These claims are a necessary step to compel federal action, recover costs, and protect Dayton rate payers from bearing an unfair and overwhelming financial burden. The federal government, and the Department of War in particular, need to provide funding to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to pay for the enormous costs of this remediation."
— Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein
The 88th Air Base Wine Public Affairs office also provided a statement.
“The Air Force is aware of the City of Dayton’s lawsuit and remains committed to working cooperatively with local, state, and federal partners to address environmental concerns in accordance with CERCLA and all applicable laws. We will continue to prioritize transparency, protect public health, and support ongoing efforts to ensure safe and sustainable solutions for the community.”
— 88th Air Base Wine Public Affairs office
The lawsuit is asking for $14 million, which they’ve already spent on PFAS protection, but also the future cost of meeting EPA guidelines.
The City of Dayton estimates it at $300 to $350 million for Phase 1 this year and Phase 2 beginning in 2029.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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