Grand Canyon Times

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) announced Sept. 2 that it had entered into a $3 million public water system sampling plan with the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona (WIFA), with funding coming from federal Safe Drinking Water Act funds.

According to the plan, public water systems serving more than 3,300 people must test for per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) contamination, according to a release from ADEQ.

“ADEQ is committed to ensuring that all public water systems in Arizona are tested for PFAS — regardless of the number of people they serve,” Trevor Baggiore, Director of Water Quality Division, The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, said in the release.

Baggiore said sampling public water systems was “critical to understanding where PFAS is so that steps can be taken to reduce people’s exposure to PFAS in drinking water and to connect affected public water systems to funding sources to achieve solutions,” he said.

Baggiore added that tests for PFAS has not been mandatory previously.

“Right now, EPA’s PFAS health advisories are non-regulatory and non-enforceable,” he said, “but we expect the EPA to set national PFAS drinking water standards that public water systems must meet as early as the end of next year.

“The PFAS data we’ve collected since 2018, along with our statewide sampling effort over the next year, have well-positioned Arizona to identify and work with public water systems to address PFAS drinking water challenges early and head on,” Baggiore continued. “Our proactive efforts also will ensure that Arizona’s public water systems — including small systems — are able to leverage existing funding sources as well as new sources we expect to become available this fall.”