The lawsuit has now been consolidated with roughly 10,000 other PFAS lawsuits for pre-trial proceedings in multidistrict litigation (MDL 2873) pending in South Carolina. The first MDL bellwether trial is still months away. Some believe that a global settlement will happen before then.
Toxic water contamination
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) are manufactured chemical compounds containing fluorine and carbon, a combination which makes them nearly indestructible. They have been credibly linked to:
- type 2 diabetes in women;
- delayed puberty in girls;
- adverse birth outcomes;
- liver damage;
- thyroid cancer;
- testicular cancer;
- high cholesterol;
- reduced immune function;
- breast cancer;
- renal disease; and
- lower bone mineral density.
All six counties served by Pike Water Inc.—Pike, Ross, Jackson, Adams, Highland, and Scioto—consistently exhibit significantly higher cancer incidence and mortality rates compared to both Ohio and U.S. averages, based on data from 2018-2022. Somewhat incredibly, Pike Water Inc. has assured all community members that their drinking water is safe.
These chemicals are often referred to as “forever chemicals” because they do not biodegrade naturally. These toxic chemicals, once released, are not only persistent but also highly mobile, easily migrating through soil and groundwater. This characteristic allows them to contaminate drinking water supplies over vast geographical areas.
Pike Water claims these compounds have been found on its property and seeks to recover damages to cover the substantial costs of investigating, remediating, treating, and continuously monitoring its contaminated water resources.
Water utilities face staggering (but unknown) costs
Local water utilities are on the front lines of the struggle to protect human health from the toxic contamination resulting from decades of PFAS production and use. Since the 1950s, long before the dangers of these chemicals were understood, PFAS have been used in the manufacture of firefighting foam, cookware, cosmetics, waterproof, fireproof and stain resistant fabrics. The full extent of the damage may not be known for years.
Furthermore, the science of PFAS cleanup is still in its nascent stages. Some existing technologies, like those that use reverse osmosis, activated carbon adsorption and ion exchange resins, may be useful on a small scale. However, it is still difficult to see how they could be adapted to clean up groundwater.
The fundamental problem that water utilities face is that both the extent of the problem and the cost of the solutions are unknown. Nobody knows the number, but it’s likely to be very big.
Pike County Water is not alone. In the Washington, D.C. suburbs, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), Maryland’s largest water utility, has filed a PFAS lawsuit. So have the Village of Nyack, NY and the tiny town of Waterville, ME. Some plaintiffs, including water companies have sued the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), alleging that federal regulations are inadequate and not being enforced. Some plaintiffs have opted out of the MDL, preferring to settle with various chemical companies on their own.
MDL 2873
As of mid-June, the MDL had expanded to include over 10,391 pending lawsuits, with a notable surge of 1,049 new cases filed in the previous month. The specific focus is the contamination caused by Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF), a common element in many PFAS lawsuits. The first bellwether lawsuit is set to begin on October 20, 2025. The results of these “test case” bellwether lawsuits influence the course of the settlement negotiations that follow. Many court watchers doubt that the trial will occur because global settlement negotiations are already well underway.
EPA lawsuits
The EPA appears to be slow-walking the enforcement of existing safety regulations in the face of industry complaints that the agency’s 2024 limit of 0.2 ppm (ppm, or parts per million, a unit of measurement that indicates the concentration of a substance dissolved in water) is economically crippling and technically unfeasible.
PFAS manufacturers have petitioned to raise the exposure limit to as high as 6.0 ppm. PPG Industries has argued that the rule threatens a $1 billion market.
State and municipal settlement news
READ MORE PFAS HEALTH RISKS LEGAL NEWS
In May, New Jersey announced a $450 million settlement with 3M over PFAS water contamination tied to DuPont’s Chambers Works site. The deal includes over $60 million for cleanup and natural resource damage starting in 2026, with payments stretching to 2050.
In 2023, 3M reached a separate $10.3 billion settlement with cities and towns over their claims that the company contaminated drinking water with PFAS chemicals.
Personal injury lawsuit settlements
These may be the last to sort out. However, given the staggering sums already offered by PFAS manufacturers to other litigants, settlement seems to be in the offing. Plaintiffs have been encouraged to file their lawsuits as soon as possible to participate in the upcoming resolutions.
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