Know What's in
Your Water

PFAS are a family of over 12,000 synthetic chemicals used since the 1940s in nonstick cookware, water-resistant clothing, food packaging, firefighting foam, and hundreds of industrial processes. Their carbon-fluorine bonds are among the strongest in chemistry — which is why they persist indefinitely in the environment and in the human body.

Contamination spreads through soil and groundwater from industrial discharge sites, military bases that used PFAS-containing firefighting foam, and landfills accepting PFAS-laden waste. Studies consistently detect PFAS in the blood of nearly all Americans, including newborns.

Water utilities did not create this problem. In most cases, local water systems are downstream victims of contamination that originated at manufacturing plants, military installations, and industrial facilities that released PFAS over many years — often before the risks were publicly known or regulated. The utilities now bear the cost of detecting and removing chemicals they did not put there.

Health effects linked to PFAS exposure include thyroid disruption, immune suppression, certain cancers, and developmental impacts in children. The EPA finalized maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for six PFAS in drinking water in April 2024 — though the regulatory landscape continues to evolve.