Dangerous ‘forever chemicals’ detected in 2 Nevada water systems

Two Nevada water delivery systems have been flagged for elevated levels of “forever chemicals” as part of statewide testing that is moving forward despite changing rules under a new presidential administration.

PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are found in many commercial products, from cookware to cosmetics to firefighting foam. The buildup of the chemicals in people’s bodies has been linked to cancer and thyroid issues, causing water managers across the country to take them more seriously.

But how they turned up in groundwater that some Northern Nevadans drink from remains somewhat of a mystery to state regulators.

“There was nothing we could do,” said Mitch Andreini, general manager of the Canyon General Improvement District, a small water district serving about 1,400 residents in the unincorporated Storey County community of Lockwood. “It wasn’t like we had an asbestos factory producing brake pads or anything like that. PFAS is everywhere.”

The Environmental Protection Agency announced last week that it would be re-evaluating Biden-era limits for four of six of the PFAS compounds. It kicked back the date for implementation, as well, making it so water systems must be in compliance with the new limits by 2031 instead of 2029.

The other affected water system in Nevada is called Stampmill, one of the handful of small systems under the purview of the Truckee Meadows Water Authority. It serves 45 households near Fernley, a city about 30 miles east of Sparks.

For those who know how pervasive they are, it’s not necessarily surprising that PFAS compounds are showing up in Nevada’s groundwater, said Doug Sims, a dean at the College of Southern Nevada and author of “Our PFAS Legacy: A Ticking Time Bomb We Can’t Escape.”

“It’s uncontainable at this point because it’s ubiquitous,” Sims said. “It’s been around for 50 years, but we’re just beginning to realize it. If we don’t address it, like we addressed asbestos, lead-based paint or DDT, we’re going to have a lot of people potentially impacted health-wise.”

Tests far above limits

The numbers have been staggering for Andreini and his colleagues at Stampmill, with readings coming in as high as 9 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS compounds — well above the 4 parts per trillion limit that didn’t change with last week’s EPA announcement.

Will Raymond, director of water quality at the Truckee Meadows Water Authority, said the agency is looking at ways to best treat the water that may be affected. A 2021 study found elevated PFAS levels in both the Truckee River and the Las Vegas Wash.

Raymond said one or two wells that serve the Reno area also have been flagged by limited sampling, indicating that they would be above the new federal limits. Those few and far between readings are not currently a concern, Raymond said, and he’s confident that one of the filtration systems it is testing will fix any issues for any affected well.

“It’s a whole circle of stuff that we’re waiting on to make sure our customers don’t get saddled with those high costs,” Raymond said. “But we’ll be fully compliant in time.”

But for many smaller water systems in rural Nevada, it’s those high costs that remain a significant challenge.

Because backing from the state can’t fund the day-to-day operations of a filtration system, Andreini’s water district had no choice but to more than double its customers’ water rates from $45 a month to $108 to pay for new costs associated with treatment. The flat rate for water includes up to 15,000 gallons, he said.

In Lockwood, a company called Cyclopure has piloted a product called DEXSORB, a filtration system that will solve the neighborhood’s PFAS woes. The company has paid for the testing, which has been ongoing for nearly a year.

Increased costs for routine operations, though, are not without a burden on the Lockwood community, which Andreini said is largely made up of retirees on fixed incomes. Once the infrastructure is built out and running, the costs will go down, he said.

“There’s certain people that are going to have a hard time paying for that, and we get that,” Andreini said. “It’s always tough, but we didn’t have a lot of choices here.”

A bipartisan issue

Unlike other pollution-focused cleanup programs that the Trump administration has cut, PFAS has remained a bipartisan issue: It was Donald Trump’s first administration that created the EPA’s PFAS Action Plan in 2019, and the Biden administration that doled out millions to help Nevada and other states fund its response.

Lee Zeldin, who leads the EPA in Trump’s second administration, has said he has long been concerned about forever chemicals.

The announcement to kick back implementation, uphold PFOA and PFOS limits, and reconsider the other four compound limits was met with a mixed reaction. Some called backtracking on the previous administration’s change illegal under the Safe Drinking Water Act, while others praised it as a necessary step to better solve the problem in the long term.

Zeldin said during a congressional hearing that the other four chemical limits could end up being stronger than they were originally.

“We are on a path to uphold the agency’s nationwide standards to protect Americans from PFOA and PFOS in their water,” Zeldin said in a statement this month. “At the same time, we will work to provide common-sense flexibility in the form of additional time for compliance. This will support water systems across the country, including small systems in rural communities, as they work to address these contaminants.”

Statewide testing could flag more

Though cost-cutting has touched almost every corner of federally funded programs and grants, Nevada’s pool of tens of millions of dollars from the EPA has remained stable, said Andrea Seifert, head of the Nevada Bureau of Safe Drinking Water.

Testing will continue over the next few years to identify problem areas, in a state with dozens of water districts that vary greatly in size and financial backing.

“Our program, right now, is really focused on trying to detect where those contamination situations are and start assisting with mitigation efforts,” Seifert said.

Sims, of the College of Southern Nevada, said it’s important for water managers to keep testing and evaluating this problem. What’s clear is that PFAS is somewhat unavoidable, however. His research team is even now studying coffee pods, which he said after initial testing showed incredibly high amounts of the chemicals.

“What I would say is not to panic,” Sims said. “Have faith in our government agencies that look at protection of the environment. Because you can go to the grocery store and buy bottled water, but there’s probably PFAS in it. You can’t get away from it at this point.”

Contact Alan Halaly at [email protected]. Follow @AlanHalaly on X.