What Are PFAS?

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are manufactured chemicals historically used in many household products including nonstick cookware (e.g., Teflon™), stain repellants (e.g., Scotchgard™), and waterproofing (e.g., GORE-TEX™). They are or were also used in industrial applications such as in firefighting foams and electronics production. There are thousands of PFAS chemicals, and they persist in the environment. Two well-known PFAS chemicals are perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). These were phased out of production in the United States and replaced by hexafluoropropylene oxide-dimer acid (commonly known as GenX), perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) and others.

What is New Jersey American Water Doing About PFAS?

On April 10, 2024, the U.S. EPA announced its final drinking water regulations for six PFAS, and also established health advisories for PFOA, PFOS, PFBS, and HFPO-DA. New Jersey American Water is well positioned to stay at the forefront of PFAS regulatory and monitoring strategies, building on our proactive capital planning, engineering upgrades and advanced water quality treatment capabilities, and we will be prepared to meet these new guidelines.

New Jersey American Water has been in front of this issue since 2007 with NJDEP, implementing treatment to remove PFOA and PFOS as early as 2012, well before state limits were set. We have successfully installed PFAS treatment in several areas across our footprint, using both Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) and Anionic Exchange Resins (AIX) for removal.

New Jersey American Water strongly supports sound governmental policies that ensure compliance by all water utilities while also protecting customers and communities from these costs. For this reason, we, along with American Water, are advocating for funds to help mitigate compliance costs from both those who created the problem through participation in multi-district litigation and government funding. We also believe that all water and wastewater utility providers, whether privately or municipally owned, should have equal access to any federal and/or state funding related to treating PFAS.

Our PFAS results are included in our Water Quality Reports, which are available here. You can find the report for your water system using the Zip Code Search or by clicking on the system name.

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PFAS and Your Water

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are manufactured chemicals historically used in many household products including nonstick cookware (e.g., Teflon™), stain repellants (e.g., Scotchgard™), and waterproofing (e.g., GORE-TEX™). They are or were also used in industrial applications such as in firefighting foams and electronics production. There are thousands of PFAS chemicals, and they persist in the environment. Two well-known PFAS chemicals are perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). These were phased out of production in the United States and replaced by hexafluoropropylene oxide-dimer acid (commonly known as GenX), perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) and others.

Additional information on PFAS from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) can be found at https://www.epa.gov/pfas.

New Jersey American Water has performed sampling to meet state developed limits for PFAS and better understand the overall occurrence of certain PFAS in drinking water sources. Sampling also allows New Jersey American Water to be better prepared as U.S. EPA has proposed drinking water standards for six PFAS. New Jersey American Water will take appropriate actions to meet new regulations.

Our PFAS results are included in our Consumer Confidence Reports, which are available here. You can find the report for your water system using the Zip Code Search or by clicking on the system name.

New Jersey was the first state to set a maximum contaminant level (MCL) for PFAS with a regulation of perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) (13 parts per trillion (ppt)) in 2018, followed by PFOA (14 ppt) and PFOS (13 ppt) in 2020.

Additionally, in 2022, U.S. EPA set non-enforceable health advisory levels for four PFAS chemicals – PFOA (0.004 ppt), PFOS (0.02 ppt), GenX (10 ppt), and PFBS (2,000 ppt). The health advisory levels for PFOA and PFOS are below the level of both detection (determining whether or not a substance is present) and quantitation (the ability to reliably determine how much of a substance is present). This means that it is possible for PFOA or PFOS to be present in drinking water at levels that exceed health advisories even if current testing indicates no level of these chemicals. Finally, PFAS chemicals are unique, so two PFAS chemicals at the same level typically do not present the same risk. Therefore, you should not compare the results for one PFAS chemical against the results of another.

Yes. We have successfully addressed PFAS in the past. Here are three examples:

  • Short Hills Well Station: New Jersey American Water has installed a cutting-edge temporary treatment system that uses anionic exchange resins to remove PFAS from the source water at our Short Hills Well Station. Different than Granular Activated Carbon, these resins are specifically designed to remove PFAS with less maintenance over time. This new technology not only removes PFAS contaminants that are already regulated, but also has shown the ability to remove shorter-chain PFAS more effectively than Granular Activated Carbon.
  • Green Brook and Charles Street Stations: At times, the best action to take in response to finding PFAS presence is to remove ground water sources from service, though it is not always possible. When confronted with just such an issue with our Green Brook and Charles Street Stations, New Jersey American Water found a different way to address PFAS detections. The Green Brook and Charles Street Ground Water Stations were converted to booster stations, bringing treated surface water from our Canal Road and Raritan-Millstone Water Treatment Plants into service areas that previously received only ground water.
  • Springfield Station: New Jersey American Water constructed a new treatment system for PFAS removal from the Springfield Well Field. The new treatment system consists of four anion exchange resin vessels housed in the existing treatment building on the site, chemical feed system upgrades including sodium bisulfite, sodium hypochlorite, and ammonium sulfate constructed in the existing chemical rooms, and new low lift pumps installed to accommodate new head conditions through the new treatment system. This proactive and innovative approached earned New Jersey American Water the New Jersey Alliance for Action’s Leading Infrastructure Project Award in February 2021.

Yes.

PFAS results for your water are below the drinking water limits set by the New Jersey DEP and EPA is not recommending bottled water for communities based solely on concentrations of PFAS chemicals in drinking water, even those that exceed the health advisory levels. Additionally, per EPA, studies have shown that only a small amount of PFAS can get into your body through skin. They also highlight that PFAS cannot be removed by heating or boiling water. More information is available at https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/questions-and-answers-drinking-water-health-advisories-pfoa-pfos-genx-chemicals-and-pfbs#q6).

However, some customers may make the personal choice to use water filters or drink bottled water. Certified water filtration systems may lower levels of some PFAS if the filter is properly maintained. Information on certified filter systems can be found here.

A part per trillion describes the amount of something, in this case PFAS, in water or soil. Here is an idea of what that means:

PFAS part per trillion 01 PFAS part per trillion 02 PFAS part per trillion 03

PFAS can be found in many consumer products. One way to reduce exposure is to think about what products you are buying and using.

  • Buy products from companies who have committed to removing PFAS from their manufacturing.
  • Be aware. Many companies are working to remove PFAS from their products; however, until the removal is complete, products including nonstick cookware (e.g.,Teflon™), stain repellants (e.g., Scotchgard™), and waterproofing (e.g., GORE-TEX™) may have PFAS. PFAS are also found in certain types of dental floss, nail polish, facial moisturizers, eye make-up, and more.

Here are a few PFAS ingredients to avoid:

  • Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
  • Perfluorononyl Dimethicone
  • Perfluorodecalin
  • C9-15 Fluoroalcohol Phosphate
  • Octafluoropentyl Methacrylate
  • Perfluorohexane

A good first step is to increase your understanding of how PFAS can enter our bodies, our homes and the environment. Ongoing education on PFAS and staying informed on federal and state guidance can help manage personal exposure.

Materials that help explain this are available from the Water Research Foundation. Another key action is to purchase products with less or no PFAS. This is hard because so many everyday products, from food packaging to carpets and raincoats, may have PFAS in them. Other products, like fertilizers and compost, may also have PFAS. Buying PFAS-free options will help decrease the amount of new PFAS entering the environment. A list of product types that may have PFAS, can be found at https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/health-effects/exposure.html.

At the national level, the U.S. EPA has implemented drinking water standards for six PFAS and is gathering more information on these and other PFAS chemicals. More information can be found at the U.S. EPA’s Final PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation.