Clean drinking water should not be controversial. Everyone has a right to it. Yet across the United States municipalities are discovering that their water systems contain contaminants most treatment plants were never designed to remove. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are among the most concerning of these contaminants.
Understanding how PFAS gets into drinking water, the challenges cities face in addressing it, the laws that apply, and the broader context of water contamination helps illuminate why robust legal and technical responses matter.
How PFAS Gets Into Drinking Water
PFAS are synthetic chemicals used for decades in industrial processes and consumer products because they repel water and oil and resist heat. That same persistence makes them virtually impossible to eliminate once they enter the environment.
Pathways Into Water Systems
Industrial Discharges
Chemical plants, manufacturing facilities, and industrial operations that used or produced PFAS released wastewater containing these compounds into rivers and streams. Over time, this contamination moved downstream and infiltrated water supplies that serve municipalities.
Wastewater Treatment Effluent
Wastewater treatment plants receive water from residential, commercial, and industrial sources. Most wastewater treatment systems were designed to remove bacteria, organic matter, and solids. They were not designed to remove PFAS. As a result, PFAS pass through these facilities and enter rivers and streams that cities use for drinking water.
A recent North Carolina PFAS study showed that wastewater effluent frequently contained measurable PFAS. Most of the PFAS entering treatment plants was discharged in liquid effluent. That means the very water systems that flow into public supply sources contain PFAS concentrations above levels the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency now considers unsafe.
Landfill and Biosolids Pathways
Biosolids are nutrient-rich organic materials created during wastewater treatment. When these solids are applied to land or disposed of in landfills, PFAS bound in the sludge can leach into nearby groundwater and surface water. Some landfill leachate migrates into aquifers that supply public wells.
Legacy Sites and Contaminated Soil
Sites that historically stored, used, or disposed of PFAS-containing materials leave behind contamination in soil and groundwater that slowly moves into water sources.
Consumer Chemicals and Runoff
Products with PFAS that are used at home, in businesses, and in agriculture can wash off into storm drains and streams. Over time, repeated runoff contributes to cumulative contamination.
Are Cities Aware of PFAS Contamination?
Many are becoming aware only recently. Regulatory awareness and scientific capability have grown dramatically in the past decade. Until very recently few cities had reason to test for PFAS because there were no enforceable federal limits. Municipalities did not design systems to remove PFAS because regulators did not require it and engineers did not expect these chemicals to persist at concerning levels.
The U.S. EPA has now set enforceable drinking water limits for certain PFAS compounds as low as four parts per trillion in drinking water. Many cities began routine PFAS testing only after these limits were finalized because compliance will soon matter.
Even so, not every community has tested comprehensively. Some cities are still planning, budgeting, or beginning testing programs.
Municipal leaders are increasingly aware that:
- PFAS contamination may be present even if tests have not been done yet
- Traditional water treatment systems are not effective at removing PFAS
- Testing is the first step to understanding the scale of contamination
- Without data, they cannot plan treatment upgrades or seek recovery from polluters
Are There Laws Against PFAS Contamination?
Yes. There are both regulatory requirements and legal claims cities can pursue.
Regulatory Standards
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established enforceable Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for specific PFAS compounds in public drinking water. States often adopt these standards directly or set their own that mirror or exceed federal levels.
Municipal water systems must comply with these limits. That means they have a legal obligation to monitor, report, and take action if contaminant levels exceed the legal threshold.
Legal Accountability
Cities and other public water systems have legal options when contamination results from the release of toxic chemicals by corporations that manufactured, used, or disposed of them.
Law firms like Stag Liuzza regularly represent municipalities in PFAS litigation. These cases seek to recover the cost of:
- Testing and monitoring
- Infrastructure upgrades
- Advanced treatment technologies
- Alternative water supplies
- Long-term health and environmental monitoring
Courts are increasingly recognizing that polluters should bear the cost of cleanup and remediation, not local governments or ratepayers.
What Do Cities Do to Try to Remove PFAS from Water?
Municipal water systems were designed to take water from a source, treat it for microbiological contaminants and turbidity, and disinfect it for safe consumption. Most of these treatment chains include steps such as coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection.
PFAS are not removed by these steps. Water systems must invest in specialized treatment technologies to reduce PFAS.
Advanced Treatment Options
Activated Carbon Filtration
This method uses granular or powdered carbon to adsorb PFAS from water. It is effective for many PFAS compounds but requires careful management and replacement.
Ion Exchange Resin
Resin systems can selectively remove PFAS by swapping charged particles in water with ions on the resin media.
High-Pressure Membrane Filtration
Reverse osmosis and nanofiltration can effectively remove very small molecules, including PFAS, but they produce a waste stream that must be managed.
Each of these technologies requires careful engineering, ongoing maintenance, and significant investment.
Municipalities must evaluate their source water, expected contaminant levels, and long-term costs to decide which treatment path is appropriate.
Health Effects of PFAS
PFAS exposure has been linked to a range of health impacts. These are not theoretical concerns. Decades of scientific research, including human epidemiological studies, have identified associations between PFAS exposure and various health outcomes.
Some of the documented health effects include:
- Changes in cholesterol levels
- Suppression of the immune response
- Increased risk of certain cancers
- Liver damage
- Thyroid disruption
- Developmental effects in infants and children
- Hormonal effects
The risk increases with the amount of exposure and the length of time someone has been exposed.
Because these chemicals are persistent, they accumulate in the body over time. That is one reason why regulators have moved toward extremely low allowable levels in drinking water.
Other Contaminants in Drinking Water
PFAS are one category of water contaminant. Municipal water systems also contend with many other hazards.
Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products
Medications like birth control hormones, opioid painkillers, antidepressants, and antibiotics can pass through wastewater systems and enter water supplies. These compounds are biologically active at low doses and are not fully removed by conventional treatment technologies.
Biological and Physical Contaminants
Water systems must also contend with:
- Bacteria, viruses, and protozoa
- Oil and grease from industrial spills
- Trash and debris washed in during storms
- Decomposing organic matter including animals
- Agricultural runoff with nutrients and pesticides
Each of these hazards requires different treatment approaches and continuous vigilance.
Water managers constantly balance source protection, treatment capacity, regulatory compliance, and public health.
Why Public Safety Requires Engineers, Scientists, and Lawyers
Keeping water clean requires a team. Scientists and engineers design and operate treatment systems. Public health officials set safety standards. Regulators enforce them. Lawyers hold polluters accountable when contamination could have been prevented or controlled.
Municipalities did not create PFAS. They designed treatment systems based on existing regulations and historical expectations. The public’s right to clean water should not be contingent on geography or local budget.
Law firms like Stag Liuzza help cities recover the money necessary to meet modern standards because clean drinking water is not negotiable.
If your city or water system needs help understanding PFAS contamination, testing strategies, or legal options, visit cleangroundwater.com or call 888-513-7545 to learn more.
Clean water protects lives, preserves communities, and upholds our rights as Americans.
