Austin drinking water testing shows ‘forever chemical’ levels safer than EPA standards

Austin Water has reported that the city’s public drinking water contains little to no traces of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly called “forever chemicals” because of their persistence.

The Water and Wastewater Commission received a briefing from water quality manager Kasi Clay on Austin Water’s drinking water testing and anticipated wastewater activities for PFAS chemicals at their regular meeting on Dec. 4.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, PFAS are man-made chemicals that can cause cancer and reproductive health problems, and have negative developmental effects on a person when exposed for long periods of time. Examples of sources from which these chemicals originate are nonstick cookware, firefighting foam, paint, cosmetics, pesticides, fast-food packaging and personal care products. They are The EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule program collects data every five years from all large public water systems in the U.S. (serving more than 10,000 people). These drinking water sources are tested for certain contaminants specified by the EPA that do not have health-based standards set under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Austin Water recently completed testing for the fifth UCMR program. Prior to participating in UCMR 5, the city completed testing for UCMR 3 in 2013 and 2014. Treated drinking water from each water treatment plant in the city was tested quarterly over a span of 12 months.

“Under UCMR 5, we tested for 29 PFAS compounds, only six of which were intermittently detected during this time. That is really thanks to our source water protection on the Highland Lakes. Our drinking water is less impacted by industries and activities that can introduce PFAS to our source water,” Clay said.

Results from UCMR 5 are listed in parts per trillion. Currently, the EPA’s maximum contaminant level for PFAS in drinking water is 4 PPT.

“We came up with some equivalents for Austinites. One part per trillion is equivalent to one drop in three Barton Springs Pools or 1.2 square inches in the total area of Austin. It is also equivalent to one cent in 10 billion dollars. Those are the very low levels we are looking at,” Clay said.

The six PFAS compounds that were intermittently detected by the drinking water testing for UCMR 5 are as follows: PFOS, PFHxS, PFBS, PFBA, PFHxA and PFPeA. Each compound’s average PPT was below the maximum contaminant level, meaning that no treatment is required.

Quarterly results are posted on the water quality reports page of Austin Water’s website, where the results can be seen broken down by quarter.

After questioning, Clay confirmed that source water was tested and there was no difference in those results from the treated drinking water samples from water treatment plants.

Susan Turrieta, chair of the Wastewater Commission, commented, “I’m glad to see that this is not necessarily an issue for us right now, and it will be interesting to see what happens on the wastewater side. Theoretically, if the wastewater is better, then the water will be better, because we recycle it whether we like it or not.”

“Austin Water will continue to closely monitor EPA research and regulations as well as federal and state legislation surrounding PFAS,”  Clay said. “This is an ongoing topic that we will continue to study.”

Photo by Jack Newton, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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