Clermont County Water Resource Department Atrazine Settlement | News

BATAVIA, OH (FOX19) - On August 27, 2012, the Clermont County Board of Commissioners authorized the Water Resources Department to participate in a Class Action Lawsuit against Syngenta Crop Protection, the makers of a chemical herbicide known as Atrazine.  Atrazine is used to spray a variety of crops and frequently runs off of fields and into waterways used as drinking water resources. In total, 1,085 communities across the U.S. filed settlement claims. 

On October 23, 2012, a federal judge in Illinois approved the settlement.  As a result, Clermont County Water Resources Department received $594,439.72 to help reimburse the costs of removing the herbicide from the area’s water source. Regarding the reimbursement, President of the Board of Clermont County Commissioners, Ed Humphrey, stated “I believe this to be a fair settlement and the funds will go toward operational costs of the water resources department.”

Since 1999, Clermont County has used Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) to remove Atrazine from the drinking water sources located at the Bob McEwen Water (BMW) Treatment Plant.  In 2012, Clermont County installed a new GAC treatment process at the BMW Treatment Plant to remove total organic carbon, atrazine, and other organic chemicals from the source water. The settlement funds will help to maintain low water rates by offsetting annual operating costs at the BMW Treatment Plant. “It would be nice not to worry about problems like Atrazine getting into our water supply, but things do happen and the citizens of Clermont County can rest assured that our Water Resource Department is continuously monitoring to protect local water quality. The settlement of $594,440 helps to offset the cost of the GAC carbon filtering process and we are better off for it,” said Commissioner David Uible.

Content Provided By: Clermont County Water Resources Department