The Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies, with support from the EPA, has created a fact sheet about limiting PFAS exposure at home.
SUB encourages all of its customers to join the effort to protect Springfield’s drinking water. To learn more about our drinking water sources and the ways we can all protect it together, look through our website or call the SUB Water Division at (541) 726-2396.
The various online resources linked above provide a wealth of information about PFAS. The American Water Works Association has several fact sheets that specifically address PFAS and drinking water. For more in-depth information on a variety of PFAS-related topics, we recommend a guidance document by the Interstate Technology Regulatory Council (ITRC). To learn about how the State of Oregon is responding to PFAS concerns, visit the Oregon Health Authority PFAS FAQ page.
As always, feel free to contact the SUB Water Division at 541-726-2396 with any questions about your water quality.
SUB will continue to sample regularly and to report the results in our annual water quality reports. Since 2019, when SUB first detected low levels of PFAS at two wells, we have strategically managed operations of our water sources to mitigate the presence of PFAS.
Despite very low PFAS detections, SUB is proactively preparing for potential fluctuations in PFAS levels by evaluating water treatment options. With funding support from the Oregon Health Authority and Business Oregon, SUB commissioned a feasibility study in 2022 to evaluate alternatives for installing water treatment facilities at two well sites, with the goal of maintaining non-detect levels of PFAS. SUB used the results of the feasibility study to apply for additional funds for treatment plant design. On April 5, 2024, the State of Oregon Infrastructure Finance Authority Board voted to award SUB $3.1 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for the design of water treatment facilities at these sites. SUB plans to complete the design work by the first half of 2027 and will, at that time, work with the Oregon Health Authority to assess next steps.
SUB has also coordinated closely with Rainbow Water District to address PFAS concerns and appreciates the collaboration. Rainbow’s PFAS sampling results and additional information about PFAS can be found on their web site.
SUB normally presents its water quality data by referencing a maximum contaminant level (MCL), which is a regulatory threshold limit set by the EPA. Until the EPA’s April 2024 announcement of a new PFAS regulation, there was no MCL for any PFAS chemicals. SUB will be able to compare its results to the MCL at the end of 2027, when we have completed four quarterly samples in one year.
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is updating its rules to align with EPA’s standards. SUB will continue to work with the Oregon Health Authority to ensure that we continue to provide safe, high-quality water to our customers.
Yes. In 2013, SUB first tested for PFAS under the EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule. EPA uses this rule to gather data on contaminants suspected to be in drinking water but that lack health-based standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). SUB did not have detections of any PFAS chemicals in 2013. Analytical methods have improved considerably since then. For example, in 2013, laboratory tests could detect PFAS chemical concentrations of 10 parts per trillion (ppt) or greater; detection limits are now as low as 2 ppt. Moreover, the number of individual chemicals the labs can test for has increased substantially. The result is that water utilities can now detect a greater variety of chemicals and at exceptionally low levels.
In May of 2019, in response to new revelations about PFAS contamination in other parts of the country, SUB developed a voluntary sampling plan for all of its groundwater sources. Samples were analyzed for 18 different PFAS chemicals, the maximum possible with laboratory methods available at that time. Of the 27 SUB-owned wells tested, two wells--SP and Sports Way, which are used intermittently during summer months--yielded detectable, but extremely low, levels of four PFAS compounds.
SUB continued voluntary sampling through 2024 and, in 2025, again sampled under the EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, which analyzes for 29 compounds. SUB’s PFAS data are available in our annual water quality reports.
Starting in 2026, SUB will adjust the timing and frequency of its sampling program to meet the requirements established by EPA’s new National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for six PFAS, which the EPA announced on April 10, 2024. SUB will complete initial monitoring under this new rule in 2027.
What are PFAS?
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are human-made compounds that have been in widespread production globally since the 1940s and have been widely used in industrial applications, firefighting foam, and consumer products. Many PFAS are highly resistant to heat, oil, and water, making them valued for products such as food packaging, stain- and water-repellant fabrics, and nonstick cookware. Certain firefighting foams designed to suppress fuel fires contain PFAS. Because they help reduce friction, PFAS are also used in a variety of other industries, including aerospace, automotive, building and construction, and electronics.
As a class, PFAS include thousands of different chemicals. Research by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry suggests that exposure to high levels of certain PFAS may lead to adverse health effects. Currently, more than 600 PFAS compounds are approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for sale or import into the United States. The most commonly detected and studied PFAS chemicals are perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). Despite the voluntary phase-out of PFOA and PFOS by U.S. industries, these substances continue to persist in the environment.
Due to their widespread use and tendency to persist for long periods of time, PFAS can often be detected in the environment, even when levels are very low. In places where PFAS have contaminated water supplies, such contamination is often associated with a specific facility—for example, at airports and military bases where firefighting training occurred or an industrial facility where PFAS were produced or used to manufacture other products.
