Temple Terrace has joined the national PFAS lawsuit against 3M, DuPont, and DuPont’s successor companies to recover money for a drinking water cleanup that could cost between $72 million and $83 million.1Tampa Bay Times. Temple Terrace Water Pollution: PFAS Contamination Forever Chemicals The city’s share of the settlement is almost certain to fall well short of that figure, and the gap is likely to be closed through a combination of bond financing, grants the city is still chasing, and sharp increases to residents’ water bills.
Why Temple Terrace Is Suing
Temple Terrace operates its own water utility, drawing from the Floridan aquifer and treating water at the Whiteway and Sunningdale plants. Sampling in March 2025 under the EPA’s Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule turned up 29 PFAS compounds in the city’s supply. At Whiteway, PFOA registered at 8.1 parts per trillion and PFOS at 19.3 parts per trillion.2City of Temple Terrace. PFAS Whiteway Final Report Follow-up testing between March and May 2025 produced readings as high as 10 parts per trillion for PFOA and 19.5 parts per trillion for PFOS across both plants.3WUSF. Temple Terrace PFAS: Residents Share Concerns Over Forever Chemicals in Drinking Water
The EPA finalized an enforceable limit for both PFOA and PFOS at 4 parts per trillion in April 2024.4Federal Register. PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation Temple Terrace’s readings sit at roughly two to five times that limit, and the compliance deadline for PFOS and PFOA is 2031.5Harvard Environmental and Energy Law Program. PFAS in Drinking Water City officials say the water currently meets all existing Florida state drinking water standards, but the federal deadline forces action.6City of Temple Terrace. Water Questions
The Lawsuit the City Joined
Temple Terrace is one of thousands of public water systems in the Aqueous Film-Forming Foam Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2873, consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina before Judge Richard M. Gergel.7U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. MDL 2873 – Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Products Liability Litigation83M Investors. 3M Settlement With Public Water Suppliers to Address PFAS9DuPont. Chemours, DuPont and Corteva Reach Comprehensive PFAS Settlement With U.S. Water Systems The court gave final approval to the DuPont deal in February 2024 and the 3M deal in March 2024.10Association of State Drinking Water Administrators. Judge Approves Settlement Requiring DuPont, Chemours and Corteva to Pay $1.1 Billion in PFAS Contamination Suit
Temple Terrace retained Baron and Budd, Cossich Sumich Parsiola and Taylor, and Manson Bolves Donaldson Tanner to pursue its share. The city’s complaint alleges that 3M and DuPont contaminated water systems with PFAS while knowing about the health risks, and it seeks compensation for investigation, monitoring, testing, treatment, remediation, and filtration.6City of Temple Terrace. Water Questions
How Much Temple Terrace Might Recover
Each water system’s payout from the 3M fund is calculated using a formula based on the flow rate of affected sources and the concentration of PFAS detected, with potential increases for systems that had filed their own suits or exceeded regulatory limits.11PFAS Water Settlement. 3M Frequently Asked Questions The claims administrator has not disclosed individual awards in advance, and Phase One payments began reaching hundreds of water providers in the summer of 2025.12National League of Cities. How PFAS Settlements and Litigation Are Helping Communities Close Infrastructure Funding Gaps
For comparison, Tampa Bay Water, the regional wholesaler that serves several surrounding counties and cities but not Temple Terrace, received approximately $21.7 million, with another $2 to $4 million potentially forthcoming.13Tampa Bay Water. Tampa Bay Water Awarded More Than $21 Million in PFAS Class Action Settlement Sacramento, California, received about $10.4 million.12National League of Cities. How PFAS Settlements and Litigation Are Helping Communities Close Infrastructure Funding Gaps Temple Terrace is a far smaller utility, and its share will not come close to the full cleanup cost.
To close the gap, the City Council voted in December 2025 to hire the government affairs firm Gray Robinson to pursue state and federal grants and appropriations. That effort faces real obstacles. President Trump paused a $9 billion federal PFAS infrastructure initiative in January 2025, and its future is unclear. Florida’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund is also expected to be heavily oversubscribed, since most Florida water systems have reported PFAS above the 2031 enforcement limit.6City of Temple Terrace. Water Questions As of mid-2026, the city had not announced any secured grants or appropriations.
What the Cleanup Will Cost Residents
The city’s water consulting firm, CHA, presented its Water Treatment Facilities Master Plan to the council on May 19, 2026, recommending nanofiltration, a membrane technology that traps PFAS and calcium and softens the water in the same pass.1Tampa Bay Times. Temple Terrace Water Pollution: PFAS Contamination Forever Chemicals The full project runs an estimated $72 million to $83 million, including roughly $30 million to rehabilitate aging infrastructure at the Whiteway plant, $26 million for a deep injection well to dispose of filtration waste, and about $7 million for an exploratory well to search for a cleaner water source.14Citizen Portal. Temple Terrace Consultants Recommend Nanofiltration, Warn of $72M-$83M Price Tag The Sunningdale facility would be converted into a booster pump station rather than upgraded.15Fox 13 News. Temple Terrace Forever Chemicals Contamination City Drinking Water
CHA’s rate consultant proposed a 30-year bond issued in 2027, paired with a 15 percent water rate increase that year, 10 percent in 2028, and 3 percent annually thereafter.1Tampa Bay Times. Temple Terrace Water Pollution: PFAS Contamination Forever Chemicals City Manager Carlos Baia called the project “one of the most significant in city history.” At a May 26, 2026, town hall, residents and city staff raised concerns about the financial burden and pressed for interim mitigation and clearer comparisons with other options.14Citizen Portal. Temple Terrace Consultants Recommend Nanofiltration, Warn of $72M-$83M Price Tag No formal vote had been taken as of that meeting. The city has also discussed a temporary filtration system using activated carbon or permeable membranes, estimated at about $3 million, to provide some mitigation while the long-term plan is finalized.16WUSF. Temple Terrace Looks Into Fixing Levels of Forever Chemicals in Water System
Key Deadlines and What’s Still Open
A July 31, 2026, deadline to file treatment-cost claims against the 3M fund under Phase Two was approaching as of mid-2026.17PFAS Water Settlement. PFAS Water Settlement Homepage On the operations side, water utilities must finish PFAS monitoring by 2027, and compliance with the 4-parts-per-trillion PFOA and PFOS limits is required by 2031.5Harvard Environmental and Energy Law Program. PFAS in Drinking Water Under CHA’s proposed schedule, the PFAS treatment portion of the Temple Terrace project would be completed by 2029, leaving a margin before federal enforcement begins.15Fox 13 News. Temple Terrace Forever Chemicals Contamination City Drinking Water
The city has also explored buying treated water from the City of Tampa or from Hillsborough County through Tampa Bay Water instead of building its own treatment plant, but Baia told public radio in June 2026 that Tampa staff had given a “verbal no” and the Hillsborough County option was still being studied.16WUSF. Temple Terrace Looks Into Fixing Levels of Forever Chemicals in Water System The city planned to review its options at a workshop in August 2026. How much Temple Terrace ultimately pulls from the 3M and DuPont settlements, and whether grants materialize, will determine how much of the multimillion-dollar bill lands on the city’s roughly 26,000 residents through higher water rates.