Residents for Rome, Georgia are asking courts to halt dumping of upstream carpet dye wastewaters that cannot be treated by most traditional municipal sewage systems.  Dalton Georgia produces ~90% of the US’ carpet, which is made out of synthetic fibers that are dyed with many “emerging contaminant” and difficult-to-treat chemicals.  This water flows downstream to Rome after being semi-treated by plants that were never designed for these ultra-small contaminants.  One such chemical is PFAS, thought to be a carcinogen, and which is very difficult to separate from wastewater due to its small size.  Even when separated, this “forever chemical” can only be destroyed via an incinerator at ~1,800F.  Some of these carpet companies have already settled with the plaintiffs, agreeing to send their water to a hazardous waste facility (see second article), presumably at much higher cost.  EcoVAP’s ability to reduce this wastewater volume by >90% could dramatically reduce this cost.  

Articles:

https://www.courthousenews.com/panel-asked-to-hold-georgias-carpet-capital-liable-for-contaminated-drinking-water/

https://www.law360.com/articles/1539836/ga-carpet-finishing-co-settles-pfas-water-pollution-claims

‍