$8 million PFAS water project moves forward in Morganfield

MORGANFIELD, Ky. (WEHT) — City officials in Morganfield have a large task ahead of them — removing PFAS from the water. They say there is currently a plan in action which involves a project that will cost over $8 million dollars.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, PFAS are long lasting chemicals that break down slowly over time and can be found all across the country in fish, soil, air and water.

“They’re part of our everyday life,” said David Tapp, the water treatment plant supervisor in Morganfield. “They’re in our car seats– anything you can buy that is stain resistant, water resistant or nonstick labels is generally coated in more of these chemicals. And they have a strong chemical bond. And they last forever in the environment.”

Tapp says the levels of PFAS in the city are still considered “safe,” but the city is ready to prevent it from reaching dangerous levels.

“You have a laundry list of everything from kidney cancer to birth defects to high cholesterol that it causes when it’s ingested,” said Tapp. “It’s stuff that’s been around for a while and we didn’t realize how dangerous it was.”

The project in motion involves constructing a new building — located right next to the plant that will have “Granular-Activated Carbon” filters. We’re told these filters will help remove the chemicals from the water.

“When you look at it under a microscope, it looks like lava rocks we use in a gas room.,” said Tapp. “And you have these big metal tanks that’s full of sand-looking stuff. It’s real porous. And you pump water through it and the contaminants get stuck inside the pores. It’s just a secondary filtering process.”

Although the cost of the project is high, Tapp says the city is committed to putting residents first.

“We’ve secured funding for $7 million of that and we’ve applied for more grant funding through a couple different agencies to try to make up the difference to lessen the load on our customers and residents,” said Tapp.

The building that will house the GAC filters is set to be completed in July 2027.