About PFAS

PFAS and Arlington’s Water Resources

Overview

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS, have become an important focus in water and wastewater management nationwide. PFAS are a large family of over 6,000 human-made chemicals, manufactured and used in home consumer products since the 1940s, increasingly linked to harmful health outcomes. Because they do not break down easily in the environment, they are often referred to as “forever chemicals.”

PFAS are found in many common consumer and industrial products designed to repel water, resist stains, prevent sticking, or last a long time. Common examples include:

• Stain-guard treatments for carpets and fabrics
• Grease- and stick-resistant takeout containers and food wrappers
• Non-stick cookware
• Long-lasting cosmetics and personal care products
• Durable waxes, paints, and finishes for everything from walls and floors to sporting equipment and nail polish

The sections below explain how PFAS relates to Arlington County’s drinking water and wastewater systems and what we are doing to manage potential risks.

Drinking Water System

Since 2021, Arlington County has participated in several sampling programs for PFAS in our drinking water with various regulatory or regional utility partners. Most of the results have not detected PFAS at all, and those that have detected PFAS yielded levels far below any existing or anticipated regulatory or health indexes. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed limits for PFAS levels in drinking water initially in 2024, most recently updated in May 2026. Although these regulations have not yet taken effect, Arlington and our drinking water partners have been sampling our finished water for all the proposed regulated compounds since 2023. The majority of the results have not detected these compounds at all, and all samples have been far below the proposed regulatory levels.

The table below summarizes Arlington County’s drinking water sampling results for the past year.  Please email Regan Carver at rcarver@arlingtonva.us for additional test results.

All values reported in parts per trillion (ppt); MCL = Maximum Level Contaminant; ND = Not Detected

*For the latest information on the rule and the EPA’s enforcement plans, please visit the agency’s website.
**The 2024 rule only regulates PFBS as part of the Hazard Index in combination with the other regulated PFAS contaminants. However, a level of 2000 would trigger a violation.

Potential Water Utility Rate Increases to Comply with EPA Regulations

The EPA’s new requirements for PFAS direct drinking water utilities to remove the regulated chemicals from drinking water. Nationally, capital costs to address these standards were estimated by the American Water Works Association at nearly $50 billion, with an additional $4 billion in annual operating costs. These costs will be incurred primarily by affected water utility customers. 

Arlington County is a wholesale customer of the Washington Aqueduct, and we will work with our partners (Fairfax Water and DC Water) and the Aqueduct to determine what, if any, treatment upgrades are required as a result of the new regulations.

The water utility industry has broadly advocated for the EPA to hold the companies that manufactured and profited from these chemicals responsible for the costs of removing them from the environment. While the EPA has implemented certain actions to control or restrict the production of certain PFAS compounds, the costs to address the PFAS compounds already ubiquitous in the environment will be borne almost exclusively by drinking water utilities, and subsequently, by the utility customers. 

Reducing Your Exposure to PFAS

PFAS can enter our water resources when they are manufactured, used, washed, or discarded. Choosing PFAS-free products at home and work is one the most effective ways individuals can help protect their health and the environment.

• Support efforts to protect drinking water sources and keep PFAS out of water supplies.
• Read ingredient lists and choose products without PTFE or perfluoro- or polyfluor- in their names. Many companies are working to remove PFAS from their products; however, until the removal is complete, products including nonstick cookware (e.g., Teflon™), stain repellants (e.g., Scotchgard™), and water proofing (e.g., GORE-TEX™) may have PFAS. PFAS are also found in certain types of dental floss, nail polish, facial moisturizers, eye make-up, and more.
  
  Here are a few PFAS ingredients to avoid:
  • polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
  • perfluorononyl dimethicone
  • perfluorodecalin
  • C9-15 fluoroalcohol phosphate
  • octafluoropentyl methacrylate
  • perfluorohexane
  • pentafluoropropane
  • polyperfluoroethoxymethoxy difluoroethyl peg phosphate
  • polyperfluoroethoxymethoxy peg-2 phosphate
  • methyl perfluorobutyl ether
  • perfluorononylethyl carboxydecyl Peg-10 dimethicone
  • perfluorodimethylcyclohexane
• Cook with stainless steel, cast-iron, glass, or ceramics. Try not to use nonstick cookware.
• Look for coats, hats, and boots labeled “water-resistant.” They are less likely to have PFAS than waterproof products.
• Avoid ordering food in grease-resistant wrappers or containers.
• Avoid carpets and upholstery treated to be stain or water-resistant; decline stain treatment.
• Ask manufacturers if their products have PFAS. These chemicals are often not listed. However, given that many PFAS cannot be measured yet, products cannot be confirmed “PFAS-free.”

Wastewater System

When people use, wash, or dispose of products that contain PFAS, these chemicals can go down drains and enter Arlington County’s wastewater system.

Learn more about testing of PFAS in Arlington's wastewater and solids entering and leaving our Water Pollution Control Plant.  

Additional Resources

• PFAS 101: What to Know About the Forever Chemicals(PDF, 154KB) (Northern Virginia Regional Commission)
• PFAS, You and Water(PDF, 8MB) (The Water Research Foundation)
• The PFAS Guide (ChemSec)
• What’s In My Water? (American Water Works Association)
• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
• PFAS and Your Health (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry)
• Drinking Water Health Advisories for PFOA, PFOS, GenX Chemicals and PFBS (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Drinking Water (Virginia Department of Health)
• Fast Facts: PFAS in the U.S. Population (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• PFAS in Biosolids (National Association of Clean Water Agencies)