Millions of Americans rely on drinking water systems that recently exceeded new limits for toxic “permanent chemicals” announced Wednesday by the Environmental Protection Agency.
USA TODAY found 608 systems across the country that have measured PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, at or above newly established limits since last year. Together, they serve nearly 35 million people.
An additional 13 million people drink water from hundreds of other systems that have recently detected the chemicals at levels that require reporting to the EPA, but not enough to exceed the new limits, according to the USA TODAY analysis.
These results represent grab samples, and EPA would not require water systems to make changes unless their annual average exceeds the new limits.
The chemicals are nearly indestructible and have been widely used for decades in food packaging, firefighting foam and other non-stick and water-repellent items. PFAS can eventually accumulate in the environment and in the human body, increasing the risk of cancer and other serious health problems.
Last year, the EPA began requiring thousands of water systems to test for more than two dozen types of PFAS, part of the largest-ever effort to track their spread across United States.
However, USA TODAY’s analysis shows that more than 200 major city systems are not yet available in the EPA data set, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Baltimore and Philadelphia. The number of affected Americans is sure to increase as the EPA releases quarterly updates of its data.
The EPA estimates that the new limits could affect up to 100 million people.
Map: Where water systems reported PFAS levels above new EPA limits
This map shows water systems that have tested at or above newly established PFAS limits since last year. It is based on limits developed by SimpleLab, a water testing company. Click on a system to see which pollutants have exceeded limits and to what extent the most concentrated pollutant has exceeded these levels. Don’t see a map? Click here.
Among places where data is available, USA TODAY’s analysis shows that large cities exceeded PFAS limits at higher rates than smaller cities. About a third of water systems serving more than 100,000 people exceeded the new limits. For smaller systems, it’s 1 in 10.
Again, these results represent single points in time – in some cases, a single result exceeding the new limits among multiple tests. For example, EPA data shows that Louisville, Kentucky, measured PFOA at about twice its limit once in half a dozen samples reported last year.
“The rule is a rolling annual average, and one sample does not dictate public health,” said Kelley Dearing Smith, vice president of communications and marketing at Louisville Water Co. “It’s an indicator.”
She pointed out that Louisville’s rolling average for PFOA was 1.9 parts per trillion, below the new limit of 4.
It’s the long-term trend that matters, according to David Trueba, a chemist and president of Revive Environmental, which has patented new technology to destroy PFAS.
“If I go to my doctor and he tells me I have high blood pressure, fine. Is it because he tested once? Or is it due to a monthly average across many data points? » said Trueba. “If (PFAS) is consistent, pervasive and concentrated, above a certain level, that’s what makes the difference.”
Hundreds of systems in EPA data show the same water sampling sites exceeded the new limits on multiple testing dates last year. For example, the Suffolk County Water Authority in Long Island, New York, reported that a sample tested almost twice the limit for the chemical PFOS in March 2023. The result from the same well increased to over four times the limit in November. Authority officials did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Nationwide, in Fresno, California, the water department found PFOS in a well seven times over the limit in March 2023 and again 3.5 times over last September. In total, 11 Fresno wells reported multiple readings above the new limits over the past year.
Chad Colby, water system supervisor at the Fresno Public Utilities Department, declined to comment.
Other water systems told USA TODAY they suspect their recent sample results were false positives. It can happen, Trueba said. He estimates error rates could be as high as one in five tests. However, with the new PFAS standards, he said cities will have to plan ahead.
“(Faulty tests) as an excuse will no longer be valid with the maximum contaminant loads,” Trueba said, noting that it is a good practice for cities to take multiple samples in case something goes wrong with the first test. “Instead of drawing one bottle, I should draw three.”
“You can’t explain why you don’t follow the rules,” he added.
How much will it cost to comply with PFAS rules?
There are thousands of permanent chemicals, but the EPA has now set standards on six of the most common and most studied. Nearly 7,000 water systems may eventually need to take steps to remove these PFAS from their water, according to EPA estimates.
This is not cheap.
Installing new equipment to comply with the new standards could cost $3 million for a medium-sized city, Trueba estimates.
Collectively, the EPA estimates that it will cost America’s 66,000 public drinking water systems $1.5 billion per year to monitor their water for PFAS, notify customers of the results, and find solutions. new water sources or install equipment to treat their water.
The bipartisan infrastructure bill included $9 billion to help places struggling with contamination from PFAS and other “emerging contaminants.” The law also provides $12 billion for general drinking water repairs, but Trueba said all of that investment likely won’t solve the PFAS problem in every community.
“There is no funding for the ongoing operations and maintenance costs associated with maintaining this situation,” Trueba said, noting that some cities will have to raise customer rates to afford it.
But many more utilities probably would have had to raise their rates if the limits had been set at the levels suggested by the EPA a year ago. Three of the hardest-to-remove PFAS chemicals now have higher limits than initially proposed — at 10 parts per trillion, according to Shalene Thomas, a PFAS industry expert and manager of the emerging contaminants program at Battelle, a non-profit research institute.
“These higher numbers should reduce the total number of utilities affected,” Thomas said. “It will be a small moment of relief for water authorities to see a double-digit limit.”
How long will it be before the EPA can issue fines for PFAS?
PFAS limits are now official, but the EPA will gradually roll them out over the next few years to reduce the burden on cities, many of which have limited budgets and staff.
“We’re not going to be able to respond to this overnight,” said Rory Jones, director of the Tampa, Fla., water department, which has measured PFOS and PFOA repeatedly above the new limits. ‘last year.
In 2020, the utility began testing a water treatment technology called suspended ion exchange, the first project of its kind in the United States.
The pilot program has shown promising results, Jones said, but expanding it to a full-scale system will require time and money.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” Jones said, referring to the initiative.
In terms of timeline, water systems must complete their initial PFAS monitoring within the next three years. Then, from 2027 to 2029, the systems will continue to monitor their levels at least once a year and notify customers of the results and possible violations. The EPA said it would have to start looking for solutions if their levels systematically violated the new limits.
The limits will be enforceable starting in five years, but Trueba said potential penalties for violating the limits are “uncharted territory.”
“You’ve seen multi-million dollar penalties awarded to the EPA for lead violations in the past – in Flint, Michigan and elsewhere, right? » said Trueba. “I don’t think the monetary penalties will be five years plus a day.”
Austin Fast is a data reporter on USA TODAY’s investigative team and Cecilia Garzella is a data officer. Contact Austin at afast@usatoday.com or @a_fast on X and Cecilia at cgarzella@gannett.com or @ceciliagarzella on X.
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