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Effectiveness of Point of Use/Point of Entry Systems to Remove Select Per- and Poly- fluoroalkyl Substances from Drinking Water
Citation:
Patterson, C., J. BURKHARDT, S. Dyment, S. Merritt, L. Zintek, D. Kleinmaier, R. Krishnan, AND D. Schupp. Effectiveness of Point of Use/Point of Entry Systems to Remove Select Per- and Poly- fluoroalkyl Substances from Drinking Water. AWWA WQTC, TorontoCON, November 11 - 15, 2018.
Impact/Purpose:
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 PFOA and PFOS greater than EPA’s health advisory of 70 ppt. The source of PFAS in the well water has been associated with firefighting use of aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) at Peterson AFB. Several public water systems and numerous private well owners use the impacted Widefield Aquifer as their sole source of drinking water.
Description:
To assist property owners and limit exposure of PFASs in residential drinking water systems, U.S. EPA is conducting treatability studies on the PFAS removal effectiveness of commercially available Point-of-Entry (POE) Reverse Osmosis (RO) treatment units and Granular Activated Carbon (GAC). Household water systems are being tested using a modified version of NSF Test Method P473 that includes the six PFAS detected and the water quality of the Widefield Aquifer. The project will also document the 1) Ease of use during installation, startup, shakedown, and continuous/intermittent operation based on manufacturer instructions, 2) Operation and schedules for maintenance and replacement of RO units and GAC media based on manufacturer instructions and the representative test water quality, and 3) Applicable methods of reuse/disposal of PFAS residuals in RO units and spent carbon media.