High PFAS Exposure Found in Communities Using Aquifer Recharge From Contaminated Sources

Recharge projects that use water that has PFAS in it are putting contaminants that persist for a long time directly into drinking water supplies under populations that are at risk

Wednesday, July 23, 2025 - Aquifer recharge initiatives are being employed all around the country to add to depleted groundwater supplies, especially in places that are experiencing drought or long-term water shortages. But new research has shown that some of these programs are accidentally putting PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, into drinking water aquifers. These man-made compounds, which are sometimes nicknamed "forever chemicals" because they stay in the environment for a long time, can come from wastewater, industrial runoff, or surface water sources that already have PFAS in them. When this water is put into aquifers or filtered without completely removing PFAS, it makes it easy for people to be exposed to it for a long time. Because of this, whole populations that depend on these aquifers are getting PFAS in their tap water, often at levels higher than what is considered safe. A PFAS water pollution attorney stated that these tactics might lead to a lot of PFAS water litigation, especially since health experts are warning about recharge programs that don't have rules and put volume over quality.

The U.S. The Geological Survey says that aquifer recharge is becoming more and more popular in dry areas and cities with a lot of people as a technique to store water underground for later use. A new peer-reviewed study published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, however, indicated that many recharge operations are not set up to efficiently remove PFAS before the water is put back into aquifers. In other cases, recycled municipal wastewater had PFAS levels that were hundreds of times higher than what the EPA suggested. Later, those substances were found in neighboring monitoring wells and home water taps. Normal filtration methods, like sand or gravel beds, can get rid of bacteria and dirt, but they don't work on PFAS. Because of this technical flaw, what looks like a long-term water plan could actually be a secret way for a lot of pollution to get into the water. Public utilities, under pressure to deal with water shortages, may be unknowingly trading one crisis--drought--for another--chemical exposure.

Several towns have already gone to court because they found out that aquifer recharge activities were raising their PFAS levels. Lawsuits say that local governments, utilities, and businesses that caused the problems didn't do the right evaluations or tell the public about the hazards. In several situations, homeowners only found out about the problem after independent testing was done because of an increase in strange health problems. Advocates say that chemical safety, not simply water sustainability, should now be used to look at recharge schemes again. Cities that used to think that recharge would help with water shortages now have to pay for testing, better filtering, and legal fees.

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