Thomasville officials praise water crews, cite $5 million grant and outline PFAS monitoring

Thomasville officials on Monday credited utility crews for recent repairs and told the council they will use a new $5,000,000 grant to finish multiple water-system upgrades.

Mayor (speaking as the council convened) said the grant allowed the city to refurbish storage tanks and undertake pump-station work and that some leftover funds will pay to clean sediment ponds at the water treatment facility. “We got $5,000,000 in grant funds,” the mayor said, noting that earlier investments had also funded system improvements.

Mister Longwood, the storage/operations staff member, summarized field work: “We installed a new 4‑inch sewer line to the concession stand at Gates Drive Park, installed a new 4‑inch sewer lateral and 3/4‑inch water meter and service line at the corner of Griffin Avenue and Allen Foster Lane, [and] repaired and reinstalled the fire hydrant at the corner of 43 and Pine Circle.” He also reported the crew replaced about nine feet of a corroded 12‑inch ductile‑iron main at the intersection of Faufford and 43 following discovery of hollow sections and gouges.

Officials said the planned capital work includes directional bores along U.S. 43 to loop a 6‑inch main near the old hospital site to improve pressure and deliver higher volumes of water to support nearby development.

On contaminants, the mayor described the city’s PFAS (per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances) monitoring as ongoing. He said Thomasville’s surface‑water PFAS readings are comparatively low in the region — “about 8 to 9 parts per trillion” in the discussion — and acknowledged federal and state thresholds are prompting systems to study treatment options. “We are probably the lowest…as far as surface water,” he said, but added the U.S. guidance referenced in the meeting was 3 parts per trillion for action in certain contexts and that technologies to remove PFAS remain developing.

The mayor also confirmed the city has not dosed fluoride into the public water supply for several years and does not currently feed fluoride into the system.

What happens next: crews will continue leakage and main‑line repairs, finalize remaining grant‑funded projects and schedule the pond‑cleaning work at the treatment facility. The council did not set a separate public hearing on these items during the meeting.