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PFAS typically enters drinking water sources (lakes, rivers, wells, etc.) through storm water runoff and wastewater originating from facilities where PFAS chemicals were produced or used.

PFAS are slow to break down and using products with PFAS puts these chemicals into the environment, where, over time, they may end up in drinking water supplies. PFAS can also enter the environment as consumers wash and throw away products containing these chemicals and through bodily waste.

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Virginia Department of Health (VDH)
• American Water Works Association (AWWA)
• Fairfax Water

EPA

On May 14, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its decision to uphold the maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for drinking water set in April 2024 for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). These two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are among the most extensively studied and regulated.

During the 2025 Virginia General Assembly session, Delegate David Bulova collaborated with Fairfax Water to introduce HB2050, a bill aimed at addressing PFAS contamination in the Occoquan Reservoir, the primary water source for customers in our East System. The legislation established the Occoquan Reservoir PFAS Reduction Program to mitigate excessive levels of these harmful substances in public drinking water.

Under the program, industries discharging wastewater into the reservoir or nearby treatment plants must begin testing for PFAS chemicals by October 1, 2025, using EPA-approved methods to assess contamination levels. Additionally, they are required to comply with the established MCLs as soon as possible, with a final deadline of July 1, 2029.

On April 10, 2024, the EPA announced final national primary drinking water standards for six types of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including proposed Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorohexane-sulfonic acid (PFHxS), hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA or GenX chemicals), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). The standard also establishes a hazard index (HI) for a mixture of two or more of the following: PFNA, PFHxS, HFPO-DA, and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS).

On March 14, 2023, the EPA announced its proposed national drinking water standards for 6 types of Poly-and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) including proposed Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). The proposed standard also includes establishing a hazard index for a combination of four other PFAS compounds. For more information about the proposed standards, please visit https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas

In June 2022, EPA released interim health advisory levels of 4.0 ppt for PFOA and 4.0 ppt for PFOS. Additionally, final health advisories were released of 2,000 ppt for PFBS and 10 ppt for GenX chemicals.

In February 2021, the EPA issued a final determination to regulate PFOA and PFOS in drinking water. The agency also proposed to require water utilities monitor for 29 PFAS compounds in drinking water. In April 2021, the agency announced the establishment of the EPA Council on PFAS to develop a national strategy to protect public health and make recommendations regarding PFAS.

In December 2021, EPA published the fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5). UCMR 5 requires sample collection for 30 chemical contaminants between 2023 and 2025, using analytical methods developed by EPA and consensus organizations. Twenty-nine PFAS chemicals will be included in this study.

VDH

In 2020, the Virginia General Assembly passed two bills (HB 586 and HB 1257) that directed the VDH’s Office of Drinking Water (ODW) to study the occurrence, health effects and treatability of PFAS compounds in public drinking water and to adopt maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for some PFAS compounds.

Our Water Quality Report provides up-to-date information about the quality of your water.

For more information, please contact Prince William Water’s Regulatory Affairs Office at (703) 331-4162 or email water_quality@pwwater.org. 
 

The drinking water provided by Prince William Water to serve new development in the western service area comes from public sources in the Potomac River and Lake Manassas, not from groundwater wells. Hence, public water supply does not affect ground water supply for private wells. 

As a property owner, you are responsible for replacing the line from the meter to your house and the premise plumbing. If the customer portion of the service line is determined to be lead, the customer may choose to replace it at their expense but should coordinate the replacement with Prince William Water in advance to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations. The Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project’s (SERCAP) Residential Lead Service Line Program provides up to $2,500 in grant funding toward the costs of replacing lead service lines coming into the home for eligible low-to-moderate income homeowners. Contact SERCAP at (540) 345-1184 or visit online at https://sercap.org for more information. If you need more information about potential financing solutions or if you are planning to replace the portion of the service line that you own, please contact us at leadandcopper@pwwater.org or (703) 335-7950.

All systems must make their lead service line inventories available to the public. In addition, all systems serving greater than 50,000 people must make their lead service line inventory publicly available. 

Once VDH approves the line inventory, Prince William Water will identify lead and copper sampling locations in areas that contain lead service lines. Also, 20 percent of the elementary schools and child care facilities in our service area will be sampled each year for the first five years. If the distribution system exceeds the 90th percentile for the EPA’s lead action level of 15 parts per billion, Prince William Water will be required to replace 3% of the lead service lines in the distribution system annually or until the system has two consecutive monitoring periods where all results are below the action level. 

When lead testing is performed as required by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 90 percent of the samples must contain less than 10 parts per billion (ppb) of lead. EPA has established an action level for lead in water of 10 ppb, meaning that a water system with more than 10 ppb of lead in 10 percent of its samples may require changes to the water treatment process, replacement of lead service lines and public outreach. Fairfax Water and the City of Manassas, Prince William Water’s water suppliers, have been testing for lead in accordance with the Lead and Copper Rule since 1992 and have consistently tested below the action level established by the rule. 

The EPA action level of 10 parts per billion of lead in drinking water was established based on reasonable risk assessments. It is the level that requires additional corrective and educational actions but does not necessarily directly correlate to increased blood-lead levels. Blood-lead levels reflect a variety of factors, such as age; exposure to dusts, paint chips or soil containing lead; and the amount of water consumed daily. For women, pregnancy can also affect blood-lead levels. Nationally, the biggest source of increased blood-lead levels in children is the ingestion of lead-based paint chips.