Officials stress that the water is safe to drink and is in compliance with standards set by the EPA and Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources found trace amounts of PFAS in West Des Moines drinking water, West Des Moines Water Works (WDMWW) reported Wednesday.
PFAS have been nicknamed “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down naturally. They also cannot be removed by boiling water or filtering it. The chemicals have been associated with serious health conditions, including cancer, reproductive issues and developmental delays.
The PFAS concentration in the water surveyed from WDMWW is well below the threshold for health concerns set by the EPA. That threshold is 70 parts per trillion (ppt), which compares to a 5.3 ppt concentration detected in West Des Moines.
However, the nonprofit Environmental Working Group recently recommended a limit of 1 ppt for drinking water.
“Our drinking water is safe and in compliance with all standards set by the DNR and EPA,” said Christina Murphy, WDMWW general manager. “This category of chemicals is gaining awareness as water standards evolve. This is the first time any of our wells or finished water registered a detectable level of PFAS substances.”
WDMWW said it will increase testing and monitoring frequency and conduct research into the source of the PFAS.
“One particular shallow well-reported higher numbers than the others, and we will minimize its use until we can address its issues,” Murphy said. “We will also work with our blending processes of shallow and deep wells to achieve the lowest levels possible of these substances in the water we produce.”
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