The EPA Set PFAS Limits. Now Utilities Face the Bill.
The first national limits on 'forever chemicals' will force thousands of water systems to test for and remove PFAS — at a cost of billions.
By AGUACYCLE News Room
In 2024 the EPA finalized the first legally enforceable national limits for several PFAS compounds in drinking water. For utilities, the rule transforms a slow-building contamination problem into an urgent, expensive mandate.
Testing, then treating
Thousands of systems must now monitor for PFAS and, where levels are too high, install advanced treatment — granular activated carbon, ion exchange, or reverse osmosis. The combined national cost runs into the billions.
A reuse silver lining
Because advanced water-recycling plants already use reverse osmosis, reuse projects are often better equipped to handle PFAS than conventional supplies — turning a liability into an argument for purification.
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