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Tucson Water updates council on PFAS; 22 wells removed from service, advanced treatment projects underway
Summary
Tucson Water reported to the City Council that 22 groundwater wells have been removed from service due to PFAS detections, construction has started on a TARP pretreatment project funded by ADEQ, and interagency remediation efforts with the Air Force continue under CERCLA protocols.
Tucson Water on Tuesday told the City Council it has stepped up monitoring and infrastructure projects in response to PFAS detections in the local aquifer, and staff said finished water for customers remains PFAS‑free through avoided withdrawals and treatment.
Water Director John Kameek reviewed regulatory milestones and operational responses. He cited the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s April 2024 national primary drinking water regulation for six PFAS compounds and noted recent federal adjustments to that rulemaking are under review. Meanwhile, Tucson Water has established internal guideline levels that are more conservative than EPA limits and has taken 22 wells out of service because of PFAS and kept eight additional wells on emergency standby.
Kameek described three active treatment and remediation efforts: a Randolph treatment facility project that needs a supplemental well to reach sufficient capacity; an Advanced Oxidation pretreatment project at the Tucson Aquifer Recovery Project (TARP) supported by about $25 million in Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) funding with construction started in January 2025 and completion expected by August 2026; and the Northwest Wellhead Treatment Facility, approved in late 2023 and now in active development to return three treated wells to production.
Kameek also described ongoing investigations and phased remedial work at Air Force Plant 44 and Morris Air National Guard Base, and he reported an Air Force funding lapse briefly halted a Central Tucson PFAS treatment project operated by ADEQ but that a new agreement was under discussion.
Council members asked whether rollback of some federal PFAS criteria posed a health risk; Kameek replied that the recent federal changes were anticipated for several of the additional compounds because multi‑year toxicology research is still in process, and he expects defensible values to be developed in future rulemaking.
Kameek closed by saying the city is participating in national litigation over aqueous film‑forming foam (AFFF)‑related contamination and has submitted damage claims. Tucson Water stressed that city monitoring and operational safeguards keep municipal drinking water supplies PFAS‑free by avoiding contaminated withdrawals and by treating affected supplies when needed.
Ending: Tucson Water will proceed with construction and interagency remediation coordination; council members asked staff to return with additional quarterly updates and to continue collaboration with federal and state partners.
