California Water Service confirms position to meet EPA PFAS compliance timeline

Following the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s, or EPA, adoption of a new National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, California Water Service Group, or Group, confirmed that it believes its subsidiaries are well positioned to treat potentially impacted water sources and to meet the EPA’s five-year compliance timeline. Under the new PFAS regulation, EPA established maximum contaminant levels of 4 parts per trillion, or ppt, for both PFOA and PFOS; MCLs of 10 ppt for PFHxS, PFNA, and GenX; and a combined Hazard Index of 1.0 for PFBS, PFHxS, PFNA, and GenX. Generally, PFAS are manmade compounds that are found in a number of everyday products; these compounds are soluble in water and can travel long distances. Under the new PFAS regulation, water utilities with impacted water systems across the country are required to monitor for these PFAS by 2027 and to comply with the MCLs and Hazard Index by 2029.