Island Rainwater-Cistern Communities Report PFAS in Roof-Collected Potable Supplies

Island towns that get most of their drinking water from rooftop rainwater collection systems have been found to have PFAS chemicals in their water

Saturday, September 6, 2025 - People who drink and cook with rainwater that has been collected from roofs and kept in cisterns are getting some bad news: tests have discovered PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, in their stored water sources. Because there aren't any centralized municipal systems in these areas, they often have to rely on rainfall. The water is usually collected from rooftops, piped through gutters, and stored in tanks that are either above or below ground. Finding PFAS in these cisterns is worrying because the source of the pollution is not factories or landfills, but the environment itself. This might be from airborne deposition, roof materials, or even water transit containers. PFAS cancer lawyers say that even people who live far away or are self-sufficient are now part of a bigger problem that will probably lead to more PFAS drinking water lawsuits as more people test their water and find levels that are higher than health advice limits. Health experts say that the problem is exacerbated because many of these households don't have regular water testing, filtration systems, or public health control. People are starting to doubt the idea that rainfall is a "natural" water source as PFAS keeps showing up in more and more unexpected places.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said that PFAS can get into rainwater systems through the air. Wind and weather can move PFAS particles from places like factories, firefighting sites, and wastewater treatment plants, leaving them far from where they came from. This means that in many coastal and island areas, the chemicals might settle on roofs or be carried in dust that is blown around by the wind. When it rains, they can wash into cisterns. The EPA's technical study from 2023 said that PFAS could be in places that are thought to be low-risk since they can travel large distances in the environment. Many roofing materials, watertight sealants, and plumbing parts may also have PFAS in them, which makes things much more complicated. Families often have to take care of their own filtration because island rainwater systems don't go through the usual municipal water treatment. Since the federal government doesn't compel private cisterns to be tested, many of these PFAS detections only happen after researchers choose to test them or sample the environment. Because there wasn't any oversight, exposure might have been going on for years. Some local governments are now giving away free water test kits or money to buy carbon-based filters that can lower PFAS levels, but not everyone knows about or can get them. Health experts say that greater education and monitoring in certain areas are needed, especially as climate change and drought are making cistern systems more important. In the meantime, lawsuits against companies that supply building materials or rainwater infrastructure that didn't tell people about the dangerous substances in the water may start to attack them. It's scary that PFAS have made their way into rainwater cisterns. This shows how far these "forever chemicals" have traveled

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• Studies Conclude That Unborn Children Were Injured When Pregnant Mothers Drank Contaminated Tap Water | 4/8/2022
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• Politicians Agree Camp Lejeune Service Members And Their Families Deserve The Right To Sue The Federal Government | 3/22/2022
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• The Staggering Scope Of Firefighting Foam Water Contamination | 3/14/2022
• The EPA Allocates A Record Amount of Money To Fix Lead Drinking Water Pipes Servicing Low-Income Communities | 3/10/2022
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• Children Living Near Military Bases and Firefighting Stations Could Be At Risk Of Developing Cancer From The Drinking Water | 3/7/2022
• Camp Lejeune Toxic Water Survivors Could Get Their Day In Court | 3/6/2022
• Camp Lejeune Justice Act Is One Step Closer To Becoming A Reality | 3/5/2022
• County Governments Are Suing 3M For Failing To Warn Them of Forever Chemicals In Firefighting Foam | 3/4/2022
• Veterans Who Love Their Country Gathered In Kentucky To Insist The Government Do The Right Thing | 3/3/2022
• Ground-Water Contamination At Military Installation Caused Cancer In Thousands of Veterans | 3/2/2022
• Private Homeowners and Renters Are Largely Unaware Of the Toxic Chemical That Contaminate Their Everyday Drinking Wellwater | 3/1/2022
• Individuals and Families Should Test The Drinking Water For Carcinogenic Chemical Contamination | 2/28/2022

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