Citation:

Patterson, C., J. Burkhardt, D. Schupp, E. Krishnan, S. Dyment, S. Merritt, L. Zintek, AND D. Kleinmaier. Effectiveness of Point-of-Use/Point-of-Entry Systems to Remove Select Per- and Poly- fluoroalkyl Substances from Drinking Water . Journal AWWA. American Water Works Association, Denver, CO, 1(2):12, (2019). https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1131

Impact/Purpose:

The widespread use of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) over the last half century has resulted in these compounds being detected throughout environmental media. PFAS are toxic, resistant to degradation, and bioaccumulate in the food web and subsequently in animals and humans. Many private well owners are seeking information on commercially-available resources to treat PFAS-contaminated drinking water. Research knowledge of the capabilities of commercially-available reverse osmosis (RO) and granular activated carbon (GAC) point-of-use (POU) and point-of-entry (POE) treatment systems on PFAS removal is imperative. This critical information will help homeowners to mitigate PFAS exposure.

Description:

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) contamination of groundwater sources in the U.S. is a widespread problem for the drinking water industry. Well water supplies in the municipalities of Fountain, Security, and Widefield, Colorado, contain Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) greater than U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) health advisory level of 70 nanograms/liter (ng/L). The source of PFAS in the well water has been associated with aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) at Peterson Air Force Base (AFB). Several public water systems and numerous private well owners use the impacted Widefield Aquifer as their sole source of drinking water. To assist property owners and limit exposure of PFAS in residential drinking water systems, treatability studies were conducted by EPA on the PFAS removal effectiveness of commercially available Point-of-Use (POU)/Point-of-Entry (POE) units using Reverse Osmosis (RO) treatment and Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) adsorbents. Household water systems were tested with a synthetic test water with the water quality characteristics and six PFAS contaminants found in Widefield Aquifer region groundwater samples. The study also documented the ease of use during installation, startup, and continuous/intermittent operation of the water systems.

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