Colorado Publishes PFAS Drinking Water Sample Results and New Water Quality Standards Policy

The Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) has published its PFAS sampling project results and created a new “Policy for Interpreting the Narrative Water Quality Standards.” Both of these efforts are just part of the state’s PFAS Action Plan to assess and address PFAS throughout the state that can benefit drinking water. The drinking water sample results provide more information about where PFAS is impacting drinking water sources and the new water quality policy can be used to monitor and limit surface water and groundwater discharges to those sources. The drinking water sampling project results are provided through a new data dashboard that shows a map and lists results for 400 drinking water systems and 15 firefighting districts that were tested for the project, as well as 152 groundwater sources and 71 surface water sources. The drinking water systems that were sampled represent about half the number of systems in the state and serve approximately 75 percent of the population. While none of the treated drinking water sample results were above EPA’s health advisory level of 70 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and PFOS, higher levels were found in some groundwater sources where the state will investigate to determine further actions. For more information about Colorado’s PFAS actions, visit the CDPHE website and read the press release here.