PFAS and Drinking Water: A Guide to Testing and Home Water Treatment
In April 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the first-ever federal drinking water standards for PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). You may be wondering if your drinking water contains these contaminants and what this means for you and your family. Here’s what you should know.
How can I find out if my tap water contains PFAS?
According to EPA’s 2024 standards, all public water supplies will have to start testing for PFAS by 2027. You may live in a state that already requires public water supplies to test for PFAS. In addition, many public water systems have been tested as part of EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) Program.
To find out if your tap water has been tested for PFAS, contact your local water utility or health department. Many water utilities post their annual water quality reports, called Consumer Confidence Reports, on their websites. You can also access these reports through EPA’s website.
To see the results of EPA’s UCMR testing in 2023-2025, you can search EPA’s map-based PFAS Analytic Tools.
In addition, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has a searchable national tap water database that collects drinking water quality data, including information on PFAS, from public water utilities across the country. The data on PFAS, however, is mainly limited to medium and large water supplies, and many smaller supplies have not yet been tested for PFAS.
If you have a private well or if your city water has not been tested, consider having your water tested by a certified lab, especially if other wells near your home have elevated levels of PFAS. Be aware that water testing by a private lab can be costly and not all labs offer PFAS testing.
Contact your local health department to learn about routine testing services in your state. You can also find an accredited testing lab through The Nelac Institute (TNI)’s database. Include in your search criteria testing methods “EPA 533” or “EPA 537.1.” These are certified methods for measuring PFAS in drinking water.
Can home water filters remove PFAS?
Based on the results of water testing from your public water supply or private well, you may want to consider treating your water for PFAS. There are three types of water treatment systems that work best at removing PFAS from drinking water in people’s homes. These systems can be installed at the point of entry, where water enters your home, or at the point-of-use, such as on a kitchen faucet, under the sink, or in a filter pitcher.
- Activated carbon filters are a relatively low-cost option. These can have granular activated carbon (GAC), as in a filter pitcher, or a solid carbon block filter, which has more surface area for better contaminant removal. Activated carbon is effective at removing long-chain PFAS (for instance, PFOA and PFOS) but are less effective at capturing the shorter-chain varieties.
- Ion exchange (IX) filters are effective at removing both long- and short-chain PFAS. They are usually more expensive to purchase than activated carbon filters.
- Reverse osmosis (RO) systems are considered the most effective technology for removing a wide range of PFAS, including short-chain PFAS. They are also the most expensive option and produce a significant amount of wastewater. RO systems are typically only used at the point of use.
When choosing a filtering system, look for one that is “NSF/ANSI 53 certified” (activated carbon and ion exchange) or “NSF/ANSI 58 certified” (reverse osmosis). You can also find a list of filters certified by the National Sanitation Foundation to remove PFAS on the NSF website (under Reduction Claim, select “Total PFAS Reduction”). Regardless of the filter type, be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions and replace the cartridges or membranes as recommended.
A word about bottled water
Be aware that bottled water may not be a better option than tap water as many bottling companies get their water from municipal water supplies and are not required to test or treat for PFAS chemicals.
Contact your state environment or health department to find out if there’s been any government testing of bottled water products sold in your state.