California water agencies remove wells following new PFAS requirements  

Local water agencies in Orange County, California, announced last week they are voluntarily taking dozens of groundwater wells out of service following a state decision to lower the drinking water Response Levels (RLs) for two legacy chemicals recently found in very low concentrations in water supplies throughout California.

The California Division of Drinking Water (DDW) issued new RLs for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). Also known collectively as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), these are manmade, heat-resistant chemicals that are prevalent in the environment and were once commonly used in many consumer products to repel water, grease and oil. PFAS have been used for decades in hundreds of industrial applications and consumer products such as carpeting, apparels, upholstery, food paper wrappings, fire-fighting foams, and metal plating.