6 Philadelphia-area water providers fail to meet Pa. PFAS regulations

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Two public schools and a mobile home community are among six drinking water providers in the Philadelphia region that are currently out of compliance with Pennsylvania regulations for toxic PFAS chemicals.

The six water providers are among 22 statewide that fail to meet Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection requirements to reduce the so-called “forever chemicals” in drinking water, according to the agency.

More than 180 providers across the state continue to detect PFAS at levels above more restrictive federal regulations that go into effect in four years, according to DEP data analyzed by WHYY News.

PFAS, widely used in consumer products such as nonstick cookware and waterproof clothing, as well as in firefighting foam, have been linked to serious health problems, including some cancers, thyroid disease, developmental delays in children and other health conditions.

The health risks associated with the chemicals, which can stay in the human bloodstream for years, have recently prompted restrictions in drinking water.

“I do think this is a state of emergency, and I think our world is really coming to terms with some of this and I hope that everyone tests their water because it is a huge deal,” said Hope Gross of the Buxmont Coalition for Safer Water, who has advocated for PFAS regulations for a decade.  “We have the right to clean water and I hope that others in the community can start raising their voices.”

Pennsylvania DEP implemented regulations two years ago for two types of PFAS chemicals. Water providers in the state must treat and remove PFOS and PFOA to below 18 and 14 parts per trillion, respectively.

Water providers were required to test their supplies over four quarters last year and meet the new state standards by 2025.

Following this period, six water providers in the Philadelphia region are out of compliance; Perry Phillips Mobile Homes in Coatesville, Central Bucks East High School in Doylestown, Kings Highway Elementary School in Coatesville, Audubon Water Company which serves Audubon and the surrounding area, and the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority’s New Hope and Solebury area-wide locations.

The Pennsylvania water systems that currently don’t comply with the state’s regulations are required to inform their customers and take corrective measures. If additional sampling continues to show high levels of PFAS, water providers are given 180 days to comply or reach a Consent Order Agreement with DEP to extend the deadline, according to a spokesperson.

PFAS in schools

Though October water samples at Central Bucks East High School and Kings Highway Elementary School detected PFAS levels below state standards, high PFAS levels throughout the sampling period placed the schools out of compliance based on a rolling average.

As first investigated by WHYY last year, more than two dozen Pennsylvania schools that manage their own water systems detected varying PFAS levels in their water supply after testing for the chemicals for the first time.

At the time, school district officials said they didn’t know the source of the contamination at Central Bucks or Kings Highway.

The Central Bucks School District declined an interview this week. However, in an email, a spokesperson said the district is developing a new water supply system, and a new well was drilled in January. The district is entering an agreement with DEP to establish a timeline for the new treatment system. In the meantime, under-the-sink filtration systems are being used throughout the school.

The Coatesville Area School District, which oversees Kings Highway, did not respond to requests for comment. However, in an interview with WHYY News last year, the district said it was researching a variety of filtration systems that would be installed by the start of the school year.

PFAS in Montgomery, Bucks and Chester counties

December water sampling of Audubon Water Company’s supplies detected PFAS levels as high as 57 parts per trillion at one entry point. Despite the latest test results, Audubon’s water quality web page, which has not been updated since December 2023, states its water is safe to drink. The water company did not respond to requests for comment.

The Public Utilities Commission in January approved the company’s acquisition by Pennsylvania American Water. However, the sale has yet to be finalized.

The Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority detected PFAS levels at its Solebury location as high as 15 parts per trillion in one well sampled in December, and in September, one well sample detected a spike of 47 parts per trillion.

In November, PFAS levels were below state limits at the water provider’s New Hope location. However, levels as high as 22 parts per trillion earlier in 2024 placed the provider out of compliance based on a rolling average.

Last year, the authority announced a plan to remove PFAS. In an interview with WHYY News, CEO Ben Jones said the authority first detected PFAS in its water supply in 2016, but does not know the source of the contamination.

BCWSA did not agree to a follow-up interview this week. However, a spokesperson said it’s awaiting DEP approval for a pilot study of the filtration system. BCWSA has also submitted a permit to DEP to install a resin treatment to remove forever chemicals at the Solebury and New Hope locations. Data provided by BCWSA shows testing results are beginning to improve this year.

Perry Phillips Mobile Homes, which manages its own community water supply, detected PFAS levels as high as 50 parts per trillion during October sampling. The property owners could not be reached for comment.

A WHYY investigation last year found 19% of water providers in the state detected PFAS levels above new federal Environmental Protection Agency regulations that require water providers across the U.S. to treat and reduce PFAS levels to 4 parts per trillion by 2029.

During fourth-quarter sampling at the end of the year, about 18% of water providers — including schools — detected PFAS above the federal regulations.

A handful of water providers have reduced PFAS levels since their first quarterly tests last year. At the time, WHYY News determined 27 water providers in the state — or about 2.5% — detected PFAS levels above Pennsylvania standards.

Almost half of the drinking water in the U.S. contains PFAS, according to a U.S. Geological Survey from 2023. Last year, the EPA estimated at least 6% to 10% of water providers in the U.S. currently do not comply with the agency’s federal PFAS regulations.