BY: NICK HILL, LPG
The State of Indiana recently reported finding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or “forever chemicals” above the 2022 federal advisory levels at nine community public water systems (CWSs) in Indiana. The sampling was performed by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to comply with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) proposal in 2022 for monitoring PFAS in drinking water nationwide.
A CWS regularly provides drinking water to at least 25 residents on a year-round basis or has at least 15 service connections to residents. These new results from the IDEM are from the second round (Phase 2) of testing at 59 smaller CWSs (serving less than 10,000 residents) across the state from November 2021 to December 2022. The nine facilities with elevated PFAS include: Delphi Water Works, Crescent Hills Mobile Home Park, Leavenworth Water Company, Westport Water Company, Haubstadt Water Department, And-Tro Water Authority – District 1, Troy Township Water Association, Indiana American Water – Farmersburg, and Sullivan-Vigo Rural Water Corp.
The IDEM is planning to complete additional testing at larger CWSs (facilities that service more than 10,000 residents) before the end of May 2023. The results from both rounds of IDEM testing and the IDEM’s PFAS sampling schedule are available on the IDEM PFAS website.
As more testing is completed and publicly available data is released in Indiana, and across the nation, we will continue to assess the findings and provide additional interpretations and guidance to our clients on the potential risks associated with PFAS contamination.