(December 4, 2019) – NACWA released a new document, A Clean Water Utility’s Guide to Considering Source Identification, Pretreatment, and Sampling Protocols for PFAS, on November 25 designed to provide helpful information to utilities that are dealing with growing questions around PFAS chemicals in wastewater and biosolids.

The document highlights key actions that several utilities have already considered in response to growing federal and state regulatory pressure, including several states that are pushing for voluntary or mandatory testing for PFAS in wastewater and/or biosolids.  The document is intended to help the broader clean water utility community in understanding how to tackle these complex questions―like how to identify industrial PFAS sources, what pretreatment steps utilities can take, what challenges utilities may encounter with sampling, and how to communicate PFAS issues with the public. 

While the document does not provide any legal advice or establish any recommended best practices on PFAS issues, it may provide some helpful considerations for utilities seeking information on how to address this challenging topic.

More information is available in this Advocacy Alert.  Members with any questions can contact Emily Remmel, NACWA’s Director of Regulatory Affairs.