Information on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

The City of Salisbury’s water currently meets all Water Quality Regulations as required by Maryland Department of the Environment and the Environmental Protection Agency. The City was aware the new PFAS regulation would be coming in 2029 and have been preparing to install treatment at both water plants to remove PFAS. The new PFAS rule allows water systems five years to plan, design and find the best solutions for their community.

On April 10, 2024 the Environmental Protection Agency issued the final National Primary Drinking Water Regulations for six Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) establishing legally enforceable levels, called Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs), for six PFAS in drinking water. PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, and HFPO-DA as contaminants with individual MCLs, and PFAS mixtures containing at least two or more of PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA, and PFBS using a Hazard Index MCL to account for the combined and co-occurring levels of these PFAS in drinking water. The EPA also finalized health-based, non-enforceable Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs) for these PFAS.

The final rule requires:

• Public water systems must monitor for these PFAS and have three years to complete initial monitoring (by 2027), followed by ongoing compliance monitoring. Water systems must also provide the public with information on the levels of these PFAS in their drinking water beginning in 2027.
• Public water systems have five years (by 2029) to implement solutions that reduce these PFAS if monitoring shows that drinking water levels exceed these MCLs.
• Beginning in five years (2029), public water systems that have PFAS in drinking water which violates one or more of these MCLs must take action to reduce levels of these PFAS in their drinking water and must provide notification to the public of the violation.
• EPA is setting enforceable Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) at 4.0 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS individually.
• This standard will reduce exposure from these PFAS in drinking water to the lowest levels that are feasible for effective implementation.
• For PFNA, PFHxS, and HFPO-DA (GenX Chemicals) setting MCLS of 10 Parts per trillion.