SANFORD, Fla. — On Wednesday, Sanford city commissioners unanimously agreed to hire an Orlando law firm to pursue litigation against companies that may have polluted the city's drinking water.     

What You Need To Know

  • The city of Sanford is planning to sue companies that may have polluted the city’s drinking water supply

  • The region's water generated headlines last year after the chemical 1,4-dioxane was found underground near a now-closed telecommunications plant in Lake Mary

  • The city also wants to build a new water treatment plant that will have technology to eliminate the chemical and any other pollutants

The region’s water was put in the spotlight last year after the chemical 1,4-dioxane was found underground near a now-closed telecommunications plant in Lake Mary.

Now, the city wants to build a new water treatment plant and hold those responsible for the contamination accountable.

The technology in a new plant could eliminate 1,4-dioxane and other forever chemicals from drinking water. 

Sanford Mayor Art Woodruff said the city's drinking water is safe for now, but city officials need to look to the future, as the chemical has recently been detected in city wells.

“We would like to have no contamination in the water we send out," Woodruff said. "So, we want to remove what little bit there is, but if it gets worse, we have to be able to remove it."

The construction cost of that water treatment plant, the mayor says, would be $40-$50 million. 

The city plans to use federal funding and grants to help pay for it. 

As for exactly who the city plans to sue over the contamination issue, they’ve yet to be named.

The city has hired the firm DSK Law to move forward with the litigation.