Contaminated sites with PFAS in drinking water

There are sites on our Contaminated Sites List that we know have Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination. Although PFAS chemicals are not manufactured in Washington, they can still be released to the environment from consumer and industrial products. Firefighting foam is a key suspected source of PFAS-contaminated drinking water in Washington.

Washington State Department of Health (DOH) provides guidance and recommendations to protect your health on their PFAS page. The Office of Drinking Water at DOH regulates public water systems, including implementing the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

Known cleanup sites with potential drinking water contamination

Ecology knows that there is PFAS contamination in groundwater in these areas. If your water system is in one of these areas, it may be impacted.

Does your water system contain PFAS?

Find testing results for public water systems

Public water systems are required to test for PFAS and report the results to the Washington State Department of Health. You can find this information on the Department of Health's PFAS Testing Results dashboard. This interactive map shows which systems have been tested for PFAS, and whether the results are above or below state action levels.

Testing private wells

If you have a private well, you can collect a water sample and send it to a lab for testing. You can send your sample to any lab on this list of accredited labs that test public drinking water samples for PFAS. Testing will cost around $300–$600. The Department of Health may have funding to help private well owners and small water systems test through their Alternative Drinking Water program.

You can also use Ecology's Lab Search tool to find a lab:

On the method screen, check “Show only labs that accept public samples.”
Search for “EPA 533” or “EPA 537.1”. These methods test for different PFAS compounds.

What to do if your water is contaminated with PFAS

If you know there is PFAS contamination in your water, visit the Department of Health’s website to learn about steps you can take to protect your health.

Health concerns

There is a large health research effort underway to understand the toxicity of this large chemical family. The best studied PFAS are linked to immune, metabolic, liver, kidney, reproductive and developmental problems in humans.