The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) set a standard of 20 parts per trillion on October 2, 2020 for the sum of these six PFAS compounds (called PFAS6)
- Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
- Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)
- Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
- Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)
- Perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA)
- Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA)
While the new regulation’s testing requirements were not effective until 2021, MWRA tested for the six regulated PFAS as well as a dozen other PFAS compounds, using extremely sensitive testing methods, beginning in 2019.
As expected given MWRA’s well-protected watersheds and reservoirs, MWRA easily met the new standard. No more than trace amounts of PFAS were detected, at levels too low to be quantified. The sum of the six regulated PFAS compounds was zero, below the new MassDEP standard of 20 parts per trillion.
Based on our low PFAS results during the first two quarters of sampling in 2021, MassDEP gave the MWRA a sampling waiver for the remainder of 2021.
If a community receives all of its water from MWRA, then that community is not required by MassDEP to sample for PFAS. The MWRA results represent the water you drink.
If your community receives only part of its water from MWRA and the rest from local supplies, you can get your local results from your local water department or here.
Results are posted below.
MWRA PFAS Test Results
August 2019 (PDF)
January 2021 (PDF)
April 2021 (PDF)
November 2022 (PDF)
May 2023 (PDF)
October
2023 (PDF)
UCMR5 PFAS Sampling
