The Daily Drip

The Lead

GeorgiaPFAS, the forever chemicals1The right to safety

Four Georgia rivers. Twenty samples.

What’s going on

Environment America, a national advocacy group, reviewed surface water testing by nonprofits and state and federal agencies and found PFAS widespread in Georgia, GPB News reports: in the Chattahoochee, Conasauga, Savannah and Altamaha rivers, with some of the highest concentrations in North Georgia. The survey rests on just 20 samples. Jennette Gayer of Environment Georgia wants lawmakers to require more testing and revive a state effort to regulate manufacturers known to use PFAS, which stalled in committee this year. EPA says most of the U.S. population has likely been exposed.

Our take

Twenty samples for a whole state isn’t a verdict. It’s a flashlight. When the data’s thin, the people who drink the water and fish the rivers are left guessing. That’s what a table is for: pull your neighbors together, ask your utility which PFAS it tests for and what it found, and get the answer in writing. More data, not more fear.

Read the original reporting: GPB News

What you can do

1. Ask which PFAS your utility testsGet the words

   To: your water utility. Fill in the brackets, then send it by email or read it at a meeting.

   Hi, I’m a customer at [your address]. Which PFAS does our water system test for, how often, and what were the latest results for each? What’s the plan if any are over the limits? Please answer in writing. Thank you.Copy the words
2. See your system’s PFAS results (EPA UCMR 5)Opens the tool
3. Check what’s in your waterEnter your ZIP

The Guardian DeclarationBecome a Guardian. It’s free. Sign the Declaration and get The Right to Know.AquaCivics™ tableHost a table on PFAS, the forever chemicals. We’ll bring the data.

Today’s Action · two minutes

Ask which PFAS your utility tests

Two minutes, one email. Georgia’s survey ran on 20 samples. Your utility’s own results are the data that fills the gap, so get them in writing.

To: your water utility. Fill in the brackets, then send it by email or read it at a meeting.

Hi, I’m a customer at [your address]. Which PFAS does our water system test for, how often, and what were the latest results for each? What’s the plan if any are over the limits? Please answer in writing. Thank you.Copy the words

1. Utah County, UTData centers and our water4The right to be heard

   A cap: 300,000 gallons a year.

   Utah County’s Planning Commission voted to recommend a data center ordinance that caps cooling water at 300,000 gallons a year. The County Commission makes the final call later.

   Our take, and what you can do

   What’s going on

   Utah County’s Planning Commission voted Tuesday, Oct. 20, to recommend an ordinance for data centers on unincorporated county land, The Salt Lake Tribune reports. It would cap cooling systems at 300,000 gallons of water a year, let closed-loop systems drain and refill no more than once every five years without county approval, require studies of nearby wells with monitoring every six months for the first two years, cap the largest projects at 500 megawatts and make applicants pay for grid upgrades. The County Commission decides at a later meeting. Deputies restrained three protesters at the meeting; one was arrested and two were cited.

   Our take

   Rules written before the build are the ones that hold. A water cap, well studies and monitoring are what neighbors keep asking for, and here they’re on paper. The vote that counts is still ahead. In Utah County, ask the commission for the water numbers in writing before that meeting. Anywhere else, ask whether your county has any data center water rules at all.

   Read the original reporting: The Salt Lake Tribune

   What you can do

   1. Ask for the data center’s water numbersGet the words

      To: your county commission. Fill in the brackets, then send it by email or read it at a meeting.

      Hi, I live at [your address]. For the data center proposed or operating in our county: how many gallons a day will it use at full build, from which source, who meters it, and is any of it covered by a nondisclosure agreement? Please answer in writing before the vote. Thank you.Copy the words
   2. Find your local officialsOpens the tool
   3. Share this storyShare

   The Guardian DeclarationBecome a Guardian. It’s free. Sign the Declaration and get The Right to Know.AquaCivics™ tableHost a table on Data centers and our water. We’ll bring the data.
2. Stonecrest, GAFailing infrastructure5The right to basic needs

   Day two with no water.

   A Stonecrest neighborhood in DeKalb County went into a second day without running water after a water main break near Rock Springs Road and Ottawa Trail. The county is handing out bottled water.

   Our take, and what you can do

   What’s going on

   A neighborhood in Stonecrest, in DeKalb County, Georgia, entered a second day without running water Thursday while crews repaired a broken water main where Rock Springs Road meets Ottawa Trail, Atlanta News First reports. One resident said her water slowed to a trickle, then stopped, around 6:30 p.m. the night before. DeKalb County Watershed Management said bottled water is available at 3198 Ottawa Trail. It hadn’t said when repairs would be done and hadn’t issued a boil water advisory. The county is separately replacing aging water mains along nearby Panola Road.

   Our take

   A main break isn’t bad luck. It’s old pipe telling you its age. The fix starts with a plan: how many breaks, which pipes go first and how it’s paid for. DeKalb neighbors can ask Watershed Management for that plan in writing. And when the water comes back, run the tap a few minutes if it looks discolored.

   Read the original reporting: Atlanta News First

   What you can do

   1. Ask for the repair planGet the words

      To: your city or utility. Fill in the brackets, then send it by email or read it at a meeting.

      Hi, I live at [your address]. How many water main breaks did our system have in the last 12 months, what’s the replacement plan for the oldest pipes, and how is it paid for? Please answer in writing. Thank you.Copy the words
   2. Look up your system’s violationsOpens the tool
   3. Share this storyShare

   The Guardian DeclarationBecome a Guardian. It’s free. Sign the Declaration and get The Right to Know.AquaCivics™ tableHost a table on Failing infrastructure. We’ll bring the data.
3. Lake Charles, LAPFAS, the forever chemicals6The right to redress

   Two cities sign on to a settlement.

   Westlake and Lake Charles, Louisiana, are joining a settlement over PFAS in firefighting foam. A city doesn’t need a confirmed contaminated system to take part.

   Our take, and what you can do

   What’s going on

   Westlake and Lake Charles, Louisiana, are joining a class-action settlement over PFAS in firefighting foam, KPLC reports. The cases, filed starting in 2018, were combined in federal court in South Carolina. Per a Westlake City Council resolution, the two cities are in a separate, much smaller settlement with Amerex, Archroma U.S., Carrier Global and Nation Ford Chemical; no dollar amount was given. Court filings put 3M’s settlement with water systems at an estimated $10.5 billion to $12.5 billion. A system can qualify without confirmed contamination, by being required to test for certain PFAS or by serving enough people.

   Our take

   Settlement money can pay for treatment, if cities claim it and spend it on the water. That’s a question anyone can ask out loud. Is your city in a PFAS settlement? How much is coming, and where will it go? Ask in writing. The answers belong to the people paying the bills.

   Read the original reporting: KPLC

   What you can do

   1. Ask about PFAS settlement moneyGet the words

      To: your city council. Fill in the brackets, then send it by email or read it at a meeting.

      Hi, I live at [your address]. Is our city or water system part of any PFAS settlement? If so, how much is it expected to receive, when, and will the money go to testing and treating our drinking water? Please answer in writing. Thank you.Copy the words
   2. See your system’s PFAS results (EPA UCMR 5)Opens the tool
   3. Share this storyShare

   The Guardian DeclarationBecome a Guardian. It’s free. Sign the Declaration and get The Right to Know.AquaCivics™ tableHost a table on PFAS, the forever chemicals. We’ll bring the data.

The Classroom Drip · grades 6–12 · one class period

Four Georgia rivers. Twenty samples.

PFAS are chemicals used in things like non-stick pans, water-repellent gear and firefighting foam. People call them “forever chemicals” because they can last a very long time in the environment. A national group called Environment America looked at water tests from Georgia’s rivers. It found PFAS in the Chattahoochee, Conasauga, Savannah and Altamaha rivers, with some of the highest levels in North Georgia. But the survey used just 20 samples for the whole state. A local leader says there isn’t enough data and wants lawmakers to require more testing.

Talk about it

If only 20 samples were taken across all of Georgia, what can we say for sure, and what would you still want to know?

Student Scientist

Find the river or stream closest to your school on a map. Write three questions a Student Scientist would need answered before saying whether its water is safe: where to sample, how often, and what to test for. Then do the math: if each of the four rivers had been sampled the same number of times, how many samples would each one get?

Teachers: bring Guardians of H2O™ to your school at aquagenuity.com/guardiansk12.

Today’s water, by right

Every story is filed under one of the eight consumer rights. Today’s edition touched 4 of the eight; each glass fills with its stories. This count feeds the AquaRights Index™.

1. 1
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2. 0
   The right to be informed
3. 0
   The right to choose
4. 1
   The right to be heard
5. 1
   The right to basic needs
6. 1
   The right to redress
7. 0
   The right to education
8. 0
   The right to a healthy environment

Guardian Season · Mar 15 – Jun 5, 2027

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