Read the full article by Jeff Werner (Patch)
“DOYLESTOWN BOROUGH, Pa. — The Doylestown Borough Council has directed its water
engineer to conduct a Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) treatment feasibility alternatives study of the borough’s drinking water at a cost of $20,000.
The borough is taking the preemptive action to prepare for what is expected to be an upgrade of the borough’s wells that would bring them into compliance with future federal standards. The future upgrade could cost the borough between $7.5 and $10 million in construction costs and add up to $250,000 to $300,000 a year in additional operating costs.
PFAS are widely used, long lasting chemicals, components of which break down very slowly over time, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Because of their widespread use and their persistence in the environment, many PFAS are found in the blood of people and animals all over the world and are present at low levels in a variety of food products and in the environment. PFAS are found in water, air, fish, and soil at locations across the nation and the globe.
For some time, trace amounts of the so called forever chemical have been present in the borough’s wells, but the amounts have been far below the federal health advisory of 70 parts per trillion and above.
‘Our wells have been well below those numbers and haven’t come anywhere close to exceeding that existing federal health advisory,’ reported borough manager John Davis.
Those standards, however, are in the process of changing both at the federal and at the state levels prompting the borough’s action on the study.” …