| The United States EPA issued the final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for six PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) compounds on April 10th 2014. These Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) are now legally enforceable and can be considered to be the new “Minimum Standard” for drinking water quality. The Goal is of course to have ZERO of any of these contaminants in your drinking water. Affected utilities will be required to comply with the new MCLs with five years from now. For the first three years, utilities must complete initial monitoring for the targeted compounds. Public water systems that find amounts of the targeted PFAS in amounts over the MCLs must take action and implement solutions that reduce PFAS in the drinking water that they deliver by 2029. With this rule, EPA has set limits for PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS, and GenX (HFPO-DA) EPA is also setting a hazard index level if two or more of the following are present as a mixture: PFNA, PFHxS, HFPO-DA, and PFBS. This is the first instance of a United States Federal Drinking Water Regulation employing a Hazard Index (HI) approach. This HI approach is designed to account for exposures occurring to multiple PFAS at once. Decades of research indicate that many chemicals, including some PFAS can combine in mixtures and have additive negative health effects, even if the individual chemicals are each present at lower (acceptable) levels. Since PFAS compounds can often be found together in varying combinations as mixtures in water, this HI approach makes sense, but it creates significant complexity in the creating of testing protocols for Drinking Water Treatment Devices.. |
| Contaminant | Maximum Contaminant Level |
| PFOA | 4 ppt |
| PFOS | 4 ppt |
| PFNA | 10 ppt |
| PFHxS | 10 ppt |
| GenX (HFPO-DA) | 10 ppt |
| “Mixture” of two of more of the following: PFNA, PFHxS, GenX (HFPO-DA), and PFBS | HAZARD INDEX OF ” 1 “ |
| Water systems must also provide the public with information on the levels of these PFAS in their drinking water in their Annual Consumer Confidence Reports beginning in 2027.Environmental scientists expect large volumes of surface and groundwater used to supply drinking water across the U.S. will require PFAS treatment and removal to comply with the new MCL regulations. The rule can be accessed here: https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas |
This rule has broad and long-term financial and governance issues attached to it. Most important to note, is that the EPA suggests that only around 6-10% of water utilities will be affected by this rule. IF one extrapolates data from the UCMR5 reporting, it is not unreasonable to assume that it will be more like 15% of utilities that will be immediately affected nationwide.
As water testing capabilities (cost-effectiveness and resolution) improve, and as more PFAS contamination circulates through the ecosystem, it is simply a matter of time until ALL UTILITIES are affected by this rule. This will significantly impact the cost of municipal water.