Public works director: PFAS detected in some wells; treatment planned at North Station, public outreach to follow

Public Works Director Eric Horvath told the Public Works and Property Vacation Committee that testing has found per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the city’s groundwater and outlined the city’s near‑term treatment and outreach plans.

Horvath said the city has nine points of entry for groundwater and 29 wells; "Of those 29 wells, 12 of these have PFAS detected above the limits," he said. Horvath added that treatment will be installed at North Station — the treatment effort the city has begun designing — and that Pinhook is the next site under study.

He described regulatory context: the U.S. EPA finalized a rule in 2024 and later refined it to a standard that currently applies to PFOA and PFOS of about "4 parts per trillion," and the agency moved the compliance date to 2031. Horvath said the city has been monitoring for years as an unregulated contaminant and now must implement treatment where raw water exceeds the standard.

Horvath outlined technologies under consideration — granular activated carbon, ion exchange resins and membrane filtration — and said the city selected Black & Veatch for bench‑scale testing and design. He told the committee the city has received litigation recoveries related to PFAS manufacturer settlements: a check for $4.5 million was received on the day of the meeting, bringing the city to about $6.5 million to date, and Horvath estimated the full recoveries could reach roughly $12 million; he said the city is counting on roughly $6.5 million as part of the financing for North Station treatment. He also said a $1.3 million contract with Black & Veatch is being reimbursed through federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds set aside for emerging contaminants.

Horvath said the North Station project would go to construction next year and that the city expects to meet the 2031 compliance date. He described operational steps the city is taking to limit PFAS reaching customers — pumping wells with lower PFAS where possible and relying on wells with existing granular activated carbon — and said the city will expand public outreach, post updates on the city web page and include PFAS results in the annual water quality report sent with bills in June.

During Q&A, Dr. Davis asked why PFAS appears in some wells but not others; Horvath explained that PFAS contaminant plumes move through groundwater and can affect wells unevenly depending on source locations and subsurface flow conditions. A member of the public who identified herself as C. Cussland (4022 Kennedy Drive) urged proactive runoff controls at the airport and suggested programs to subsidize home filters for low‑income residents; Horvath noted point‑of‑use pitcher filters and under‑sink or whole‑house options certified for PFAS removal and said the city would publicize those short‑term choices.

Horvath closed by promising continued council briefings and public communications as the city implements treatment and tracks monitoring results.