Researchers have identified a number of man-made chemicals in drinking water that pose health concerns, and among the most persistent are PFAS and PFOS. Understanding where they come from, and what actually removes them, matters more than the alarm around them.
What Is PFAS?
PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — is a group of man-made chemicals that includes PFOS and PFOA. They are built around chains of carbon and fluorine atoms, and the carbon-fluorine bond is one of the strongest in organic chemistry. That stability is exactly why they are called “forever chemicals”: they don’t readily break down in the environment or in the body.
Manufacturers use them in non-stick cookware, furniture and carpet stain treatments, food packaging, firefighting foam, and a range of industrial processes.
Is PFAS Present in Water?
PFAS have been detected in air, water, soil, and fish worldwide. Drinking water contamination is more likely where a supply sits near a facility that produces or handles PFAS, such as a wastewater treatment plant or manufacturing site. Sources that may be affected include:
- Private drinking water wells
- Public water systems
- Ponds and lakes
PFAS are not removed by standard filtration. Addressing them requires a system specifically designed and certified for the purpose.
Health Effects
Research has associated PFAS exposure with a range of health effects, including elevated cholesterol, thyroid problems, developmental effects in children, immune system impacts, and high blood pressure — including preeclampsia during pregnancy.
Cancer risk has been studied extensively. In 2023 the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified PFOA as carcinogenic to humans and PFOS as possibly carcinogenic.
What to Do If You’re Concerned
If you own a well, talk to someone who can test it first. Treating well water is far more effective when you know what else is present alongside the PFAS.
If you’re on a public supply, your water utility publishes annual quality data, and you can check what has been detected in your area.
One thing worth knowing: boiling water does not reduce PFAS. If anything, boiling concentrates them as water evaporates.
How PFAS Are Actually Removed
Activated carbon treatment is the most common approach. Carbon is highly porous, offering an enormous surface area onto which contaminants adsorb. Granular activated carbon (GAC) is produced from high-carbon organic material such as lignite, coal, or wood.
Effectiveness depends on the type of carbon, how the carbon bed is constructed, the concentration of PFAS present, and the flow rate of water through it. Notably, GAC removes longer-chain PFAS more readily than shorter-chain compounds.
Powdered activated carbon (PAC) works on the same principle but is less practical for household use — it has to be dosed directly into the water and is harder to manage, so GAC systems are the standard choice for homes.
Reverse osmosis is also effective against PFAS at the point of use.
Talk to Us
If you’re concerned about PFAS in your water, the first step is finding out what’s actually there. Book a free water test and we’ll tell you what you’re dealing with and which system is certified to address it.