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County outlines PFAS testing, outreach after detections near Vancouver wells; private‑well owners urged to consider filters
Summary
Clark County Public Health described ongoing PFAS testing around Vancouver water stations and a small state‑funded project that has sampled 28 private or small community wells so far; staff said 25 of 28 tested mirrors exceeded EPA thresholds and the county is preparing a larger grant to expand the work.
Clark County Public Health staff told the board on March 26 that the department is conducting targeted testing and outreach after PFAS detections in several City of Vancouver public water stations and that the county is expanding voluntary sampling of nearby private and small community wells.
Brian Dedonker, environmental health specialist and leader of the county’s Hazard Assessment Program, said the county secured a source‑water protection grant from the Washington State Department of Health for the 2024–2025 period to pay for testing and voluntary decommissioning where appropriate. Dedonker said the grant identified roughly 75 smaller wells among about 56 owners in time‑of‑travel zones near affected Vancouver wells; after verification the project tracked 63 wells and 28 had been sampled by the county at the time of the presentation.
“City of Vancouver has a total of nine water stations and eight of those nine have been found to have PFAS that do exceed the state action levels,” Dedonker told the board, summarizing city testing and the county’s focus for the small grant. He said county testing of nearby smaller wells has so far shown that “25 of those 28 wells that we've tested so far mirror the respective City of Vancouver well water results exceeding EPA thresholds.”
The county explained the regulatory context: in April 2024 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency established maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for several PFAS compounds; large public water systems must design and implement treatment to meet those standards by 2029. Washington state previously issued its own action levels in 2023; local staff said those state levels prompted additional sampling and outreach before the EPA rule.
County staff said the state Department of Health oversees regulatory compliance for large public water systems and that the city water providers — not the county — would design and fund required large‑scale treatment for municipal wells. “Those EPA levels … are to be adopted nationwide by 2029,” Dedonker said. County staff described the county role as collecting data, providing no‑cost guidance to private well owners and smaller systems, and pursuing grant funding to expand testing and assistance.
On household options, staff said certain home filtration devices can reduce exposure but depend on concentration and technology. Chuck Harmon pointed to county web resources detailing filter options; staff and presenters encouraged pregnant or breastfeeding people and those preparing infant formula to consider certified filtration if PFAS are present. County staff said state and federal grant pools for individual home filters are limited and not broadly available; the county is exploring additional grants and programs but said any direct financial assistance for individual filters would likely be limited and targeted at small community systems.
Public and council questions focused on exposure risks, treatment costs and where responsibility lies for remediation. Board members asked about costs to design and install municipal treatment; county staff said those cost estimates sit with the affected water utilities and recommended contacting City of Vancouver for project budgets. Staff said one practical mitigation step is reducing source‑water PFAS exposure before it enters wastewater or treatment plants, which can, in turn, reduce PFAS in wastewater streams.
County action and next steps: the small 2024–2025 state grant funds testing and voluntary sampling (grant period cited 01/01/2024–06/30/2025). County staff said they are preparing a larger regional grant application for the 2025–2027 biennium to extend testing, assistance and coordination with city and utility partners. The county also maintains a public PFAS information page and a form for residents to submit questions about well testing and treatment options.
Why it matters: PFAS (per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are persistent in the environment and associated in high‑exposure studies with adverse health outcomes; EPA standards are measured in parts per trillion, and the presence of PFAS in source water triggers long‑term planning and potential treatment requirements by utilities and actions for affected private‑well owners.
