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PFAS Facts

PWC’s top priority is providing safe, high-quality drinking water that meets or exceeds all current regulatory standards.

PWC is committed to continued advocacy to prevent PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) from being discharged into our source water so that we can eliminate the exposure and financial burden for our customers.

It has been well reported that the predominant source of emerging compounds is the use of/and manufacturing of products including cosmetics, shampoos, paints, food packaging, cleaning, stain and stick resistance products.

Prior to the EPA announcing proposed PFAS drinking water standards in 2023, there had been no established regulatory limits for PFAS in drinking water.  However, for nearly 10 years, PWC has advocated with regulatory agencies to reduce and prevent the discharge of industrial pollution/PFAS into the Cape Fear River, our primary drinking water source.   While PFAS are present in our source water, the EPA says 70% of a consumer’s exposure to emerging compounds comes from non-drinking water sources.

A recent media story reported PFAS levels in our water using a home testing kit and, in a manner, not consistent with EPA reporting.   Our testing is analyzed by an EPA-certified Laboratory and is compliant with EPA methods.   Our levels are far closer to the EPA limits being proposed.

PWC has had ongoing education and provided customers testing results and our efforts to respond to the PFAS threat.  This information has been reported in our customer communications, our annual water quality report, on our website, and local media reports. 

We understand the public’s desire for swift action to remove PFAS.  It is important to know that a water treatment upgrade is a major infrastructure investment and is not an off-the shelf solution.  The upgrade must be designed specifically for each of our drinking water plants.  The planned water treatment upgrade required studies to determine the most effective method for PWC.  We conducted this study between October 2021-October 2022 and determined the Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) media/method to be the most effective in removing PFAS.

CityView News reported on our planned water treatment facility upgrade which is in response to removing PFAS. This was presented in an open Commission meeting on Jan. 10, 2024.

As this upgrade is being designed and built to help us meet new EPA Drinking Water standards, we have been actively working to upgrade our current Powder Activated Carbon (PAC) treatment capabilities to allow a higher dosage than is currently possible.  While PAC is not as efficient or economical as GAC, it can effectively remove modest amounts of PFAS and it will assist us in addressing PFAS until GAC, which is the best solution, can be installed.

PAC construction begins this spring and is expected to be completed by April 2026.  Our GAC upgrade is expected to be operational by February 2028. 

As has been reported, upgrading our plants with the GAC to remove these industrial pollutants, will be a significant cost to our customers, with a projected cost of around $80 million.

While planning for these upgrades, staff has also sought out funding to reduce the financial burden on our customers.  We have just been notified that we have received more than $30.5 million in funding for our GAC upgrades.  This includes $11.5 million in grants from federal infrastructure and state drinking water revolving funds.  $19 million is a low interest loan from state drinking water revolving funds.

In addition, we continue to seek other funding. We are currently working with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality representatives to request an additional $18 million that includes a potential $9.7 million toward our PAC facility upgrades.  We will also actively continue pursuing federal and state funds for the remaining $49.5 million needed for the GAC upgrade.

What are PFAS compounds?

In March 2023, the EPA issued proposed drinking water standards to manage the risk for PFAS.

Since the 1940s, PFAS compounds have been widely used in the manufacturing of carpets, clothing, fabrics for furniture, paper packaging for food and other materials. They are also used for firefighting and in industrial processes. The EPA says most people are exposed to these chemicals through consumer products. In fact, 70% of a consumer’s exposure to emerging compounds comes from non-drinking water sources (see pie chart at right).

Drinking water can be an additional source of exposure in communities where these chemicals have entered the water supplies. Most uses of PFOA and PFOS were voluntarily phased out by U.S. manufacturers in the mid-2000s however,  there are a limited number of ongoing uses, and these chemicals remain in the environment due to their persistence and the inability to degrade.  In Fayetteville, a predominant source of emerging compounds is the use of and manufacturing of  products upstream of Fayetteville including cosmetics, shampoos, paints, food packaging, cleaning, stain and stick resistance products.  

About EPA Proposed PFAS Regulations

The EPA regulates the safe levels for hundreds of compounds in drinking water.  PWC meets or exceeds all current EPA regulations for drinking water.  Until the March 2023 announcement of proposed regulations, the EPA had not established federal regulation for PFAS. PFAS are a large family of compounds, up to 5,000 chemicals. EPA is focused on a small number of these compounds that may have health effects at very low concentrations, two of which are Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonate acid (PFOS).

Many water utilities, including PWC, having been conducting research to determine the levels of PFAS in our water and how well various treatment options can reduce levels.

The EPA had previously established PFAS health advisory levels.  PWC’s PFAS monitoring levels have been well below the previous PFAS health advisory level of 70 ppt (parts per trillion). .  For perspective, 1 part per trillion is equal to 1 drop of water in 10 million gallons of water (or 20 Olympic size swimming pools), one minute in two million years or one penny in $10 billion.

The EPA is working to establish legally enforceable levels for six PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known to occur in drinking water. Specifically, EPA is proposing an enforceable Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for PFOA and PFOS, at 4 parts per trillion (ppt), a level that can be reliably measured by most labs.  

What are the levels in PWC’s drinking water?

PWC monitors our source waters and the treated drinking water leaving our two treatment plants. PWC does quarterly monitoring for PFAS. Click here for our most current monitoring results for PFOA, PFOS and the four other PFAs with proposed drinking water standards.

Committed to Providing Safe Drinking Water

PWC recognizes the current level of PFOA and PFOS in our monitoring is above the EPA’s proposed drinking water standards and is preparing to meet the new standards.

PWC was the first utility in North Carolina to be recognized with the Partnership for Safe Drinking Water’s Director’s Award for outstanding commitment to quality drinking water treatment. Every year since receiving the award in 2000, PWC has continued to maintain the award’s high standards. PWC draws water from two independent water sources, the Cape Fear River and Glenville Lake.  PFAS are in our source water as a results of the use of and manufacturing of  products upstream of Fayetteville. It cannot be removed through our traditional water treatment process.

Because of this, over the last decade, we have partnered with other communities and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) to advocate having this compound and other unregulated contaminants regulated and ultimately removed from the Cape Fear River. Most recently, in 2021, PWC actions lead the state to impose lower limits on the City of Greensboro’s discharges of 1,4-dioxane from the T.Z. Osborne wastewater treatment plant, sharper penalties for non-compliance, and increased sampling/pollution control requirements to improve the water quality in the Cape Fear River Basin. 

Next Steps

PWC has conducted a water treatment pilot study (see video below) using granular activated carbon to determine its effectiveness of removing these contaminants from our source water.  PWC is actively planning to upgrade its drinking water treatment process to meet the proposed regulations. Once the EPA has finalized the regulations, public water systems are will have three or possibly more years to comply with the regulation. More information on the EPA announcement is available here.

We are always available to talk about how we produce and deliver your drinking water and the steps we take to maintain water quality. Please contact us at 910-483-1382 or h2o@faypwc.com if you have questions.