Stormy Bost grew up in Calhoun, Georgia, wading in creeks and drinking sweet tea made from tap water. “Your family’s going through a gallon every day or two, and it’s cheap,” she told reporters. “But it comes from the faucet.” Only later did she learn the water contained PFAS—industrial chemicals used to make carpets stain-resistant that have leached into the region’s water supply for decades.
Blood tests show Bost’s PFAS levels exceed federal health guidelines. At 34, she has been diagnosed with liver and thyroid conditions, the kind of ailments research has linked to the forever chemicals. Her story is not unique in northwest Georgia, where residents have long suspected that health problems, including certain cancers, are tied to the tainted water.
A collaborative investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Associated Press, and FRONTLINE (PBS) found that Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division (EPD) knew about the contamination since at least 2008, when a University of Georgia study detected “staggeringly high” levels of PFAS in the Conasauga River downstream from carpet mills. Yet the agency issued no public warnings, no fish advisories, and no do-not-drink orders. Instead, state records show, then-EPD Director Carol Couch met privately with carpet industry representatives later that year and told them the agency had no plans to regulate the chemicals.
The state’s posture persisted even as evidence mounted. EPD’s own testing in 2012 and 2016 confirmed the contamination, and in 2019 federal tests still detected PFAS in the river. Despite urgent requests from Alabama regulators—whose downstream municipal water systems were also tainted—EPD failed to respond with monitoring data or cooperative action. “There was certainly no commitment on their part to do any more monitoring,” said Jim Giattina, a former EPA regional official who mediated a call between the two states.
Only after the riverkeeper, Jesse Demonbreun-Chapman, took his own samples in 2022 and found PFAS-laden runoff entering the river near Calhoun’s drinking water intake did the issue gain traction. He called the discovery “the smoking gun.” His organization’s lawsuit forced Calhoun to settle in 2024 and agree to filter its water, stop spreading contaminated sludge, and test private wells—measures state regulators never required.
The carpet industry’s major players, Shaw Industries and Mohawk Industries, both based in the region, have denied responsibility, faulting chemical suppliers 3M and DuPont for hiding the dangers of PFAS. The chemical companies, for their part, argue in court filings that the carpet manufacturers, not them, put the chemicals in the water. Neither side has admitted liability.
Georgia lawmakers further complicated accountability this year when Republican legislators introduced bills to shield carpet companies from lawsuits and consolidate litigation under the state’s attorney general and EPD—agencies critics say lack resources to pursue the cases. Both bills failed after public outcry, including rallies where environmental activist Erin Brockovich told crowds, “You need to rise up.”
Meanwhile, the pollution continues. A 9,600-acre land application system at Loopers Bend, operated by Dalton Utilities, still sprays billions of gallons of treated wastewater from the carpet industry onto fields along the Conasauga. Design flaws and broken pipes have allowed untreated runoff to flow directly into the river. A former EPA water enforcement chief, Scott Gordon, who tried to bring the site under a Clean Water Act permit in 2001, recalled being outmaneuvered by EPD: “I was screwed in my federal career twice by state agencies. This is one of them.”
EPD Deputy Director Anna Truszczynski defended the agency’s approach, saying it waited for federal guidance and now assists communities with testing and filtration. “We believe that there can be a good balance between environment and economy,” she said. “We don’t have to sacrifice one for the other.” But for residents like Bost, the damage is done. “There’s a lot of us and we’re sick,” she said. “We don’t know what’s next.”