Per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS) are a complex family of more than 3,000 manmade chemicals, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS). These chemicals are prevalent in the environment and consumer products. Although PFOA, PFOS and PFHxS are no longer manufactured in the United States, they are used in a variety of industries worldwide. PFAS are resistant to heat, water, and oil, and have been used for decades in hundreds of industrial and consumer product applications due to these unique chemical properties.
These chemicals can be found in thousands of products used daily, such as water-resistant clothing, carpet, food wrappers, non-stick cookware, cleaning products and more. Most people around the world have measurable amounts of PFAS in their own blood and are typically exposed by eating or drinking contaminated food or liquids (including water) and breathing or touching products treated with PFAS, such as carpets or clothing. Over time, these chemicals have entered our water supplies through various means, including manufacturing processes, landfills, and wastewater runoff. Hundreds of water agencies throughout California and thousands throughout the U.S. are challenged with the presence of PFAS in drinking water supplies – even at very low levels.
For more on what Suburban is doing to address PFAS, view our Fact Sheet here
Did you know?
- Suburban often goes beyond what is required to monitor for constituents that have known health risks.
- We use only independent, state-certified water quality laboratories for testing.
- We test for more than 100 chemicals and pollutants and take approximately 9,000 tests each year.
- An analysis of these water test results can be found in Suburban’s Annual Water Quality Report.
For more information, please visit:
United States Environmental Protection Agency: epa.gov/PFAS
State Water Resource Control Board | Division of Drinking Water: waterboards.ca.gov/pfas/
United States Food and Drug Administration: fda.gov/food/chemicals/and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas
FACT SHEET
https://www.swwc.com/wp-content/uploads/Suburban-PFAS-Fact-Sheet.pdf
What are PFAS?
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS) are a complex family of more than 3,000 manmade chemicals, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS). These chemicals are prevalent in the environment and consumer products. Although PFOA, PFOS and PFHxS are no longer manufactured in the United States, they are used in a variety of industries worldwide. PFAS are resistant to heat, water and oil, and have been used for decades in hundreds of industrial and consumer product applications due to these unique chemical properties.
Where can PFAS be found?
These chemicals can be found in thousands of products we use daily, such as water-resistant clothing, carpet, food wrappers, non-stick cookware, cleaning products and more. Most people around the world have measurable amounts of PFAS in their own blood and are typically exposed by eating or drinking contaminated food or liquids (including water) and breathing or touching products treated with PFAS, such as carpets or clothing.
Over time, these chemicals have entered our water supplies through various means, including manufacturing processes, landfills and wastewater runoff. Hundreds of water agencies throughout California and thousands throughout the U.S. are challenged with the presence of PFAS in drinking water supplies – even at very low levels.
Detecting PFAS in water supplies
In California and across the United States, the regulation of PFAS in drinking water has evolved as more information about their health impacts has become available. The California State Water Resources Control Board began monitoring for PFAS in drinking water in the early 2000s. In 2019, the California State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Drinking Water (DDW) established guidelines for PFOS, PFOA, and PFHxS, including a “Notification Level” and “Response Level.” Notification levels are set thresholds for contaminants that, when exceeded, require water systems to inform local government officials. Response levels are higher thresholds that, when exceeded, require water systems to take specific actions, such as taking a water source out of service, providing treatment if that option is available to them, or providing public notification.
Recently, the state issued orders requiring testing for PFOA, PFOS, and PFHxS to more than 200 public water systems, many near airports and military sites where these chemicals have been heavily used. PFOA, PFOS, and PFHxS sample results are reported in “parts per trillion” (ppt), which is the equivalent of four grains of sugar dissolved in an Olympic sized swimming pool.
The Notification and Response Levels are summarized in the table below:
| Chemical Name | Notification Level (ppt) | Response Level (ppt) |
| PFOA | 5.1 | 10 |
| PFOS | 6.5 | 40 |
| PFHxS | 3 | 20 |
In April 2024, the EPA set Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL) for five individual PFAS: PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS, and HFPO-DA. The MCL for PFOS and PFOA is 4 ppt. The MCL for PFNA, PFHxS, and HFPO-DA is 10 ppt. Water systems have five years to achieve compliance with the new PFAS MCL’s.
Suburban Water PFAS detection
Suburban takes our responsibility to provide safe and affordable drinking water very seriously. Suburban has been sampling its groundwater sources in the La Mirada, Sativa, and Whittier systems for PFAS since 2019. Lab results indicate that the levels of PFOA, PFOS and PFHxS detected in these wells did not exceed their respective Response Levels but do exceed Notification Levels. Suburban is required to provide notification to its governing body, the California Public Utilities Commission, and the governing body of any local agency whose jurisdiction includes the areas supplied with drinking water by Suburban. In addition, we have incorporated general information about PFAS along with monitoring data into our annual La Mirada, Sativa, and Whittier Consumer Confidence Reports (CCR).
Providing high-quality water and reliable service
Suburban is working with the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) and the Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster to determine the origin. Suburban is also working with the DDW and WRD to identify blending and treatment opportunities to reduce the PFOS and PFOA levels in Suburban’s drinking water. Suburban is currently using alternate water sources to blend down or replace water from these wells to minimize levels of PFOA and PFOS and has initiated plans to install state-of-the-art treatment systems to reduce PFAS levels in our water supply. These systems include advanced adsorption technologies such as granular activated carbon (GAC) and ion exchange, which are effective in removing PFAS from water. The design of these systems is underway, and we are committed to completing this process efficiently.
We are committed to delivering high-quality water that meets all state and federal requirements to the customers we serve. While we work to meet the new EPA MCLs, we want to emphasize that the water we provide is currently safe to drink. The levels of PFAS detected, although above the proposed MCLs, are still within the range considered to be safe for short-term consumption. The EPA has provided a period of five years for water systems to comply with the new MCLs, recognizing that implementing the necessary treatment technologies takes time and significant investment.
