New EPA regulation could mean cleaner water and higher bills [Video]

Wednesday, the EPA passed a new regulation that will hold drinking water systems to a higher standard than ever before. This gives the systems affected three years to provide cleaner drinking water, possibly at a higher cost to customers.This is the first time the EPA has passed a federal regulation on drinking water limiting six kinds of PFAS chemicals. PFAS are a part of our everyday lives. “Those chemicals were developed and manufactured as far back as the 1940s,” said Rick Jolley, VP of Plant and Field Operations at the Spartanburg Water Association. “And they’re used in clothing applications for waterproof clothing, firefighting foams, things like that, cosmetics.”They’re called forever chemicals because they take years to break down. “It’s going to take extreme measures to try to get it out of systems,” said William Smith, Chairman of the Pickens County Water Authority.Pickens County is designing and planning a new water …