March 2022
The Orange County Water District (OCWD; the District) supplies clean, reliable drinking water to 2.5 million customers every day. OCWD and the local water suppliers in its service area are committed to operating in compliance with all state and federal guidelines and regulatory requirements.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of thousands of chemicals that are used to make carpets, clothing, fabrics for furniture, food packaging, cookware, and other materials to make them non-stick and/or resistant to water, oil, and stains. They are also used in a number of industrial processes and firefighting activities.

PFAS have been detected in the Orange County Groundwater Basin. OCWD provides regular PFAS updates to community stakeholders to inform them of the proactive measures that the District and local water suppliers have taken to address PFAS in the Basin.
REGULATORY


Federal:
  • The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has convened a Science Advisory Board PFAS Review Panel to help with the development of National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs) for PFAS.
  • EPA may issue GENX and PFBS health advisories as early as this Spring.
  • In Fall of 2022, EPA expects to release a proposed regulation for PFOA and PFOS and a final regulation one year later.
  • The proposed NPDWRs may take the form of enforceable maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for PFOA and PFOS. EPA is also considering a larger grouping for PFAS MCLs as well as a treatment technique. 

State:
  • California continues the process for setting Public Health Goals (PHGs) for PFOA and PFOS.
  • The California EPA's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is having the required scientific peer-review group to review draft PHGs and comments submitted.
  • OEHHA is expected to release 2nd draft PHGs this spring and finalize PHGs by the end of 2022. Then the state Division of Drinking Water will start its MCL process which should take approximately two years.
LEGISLATIVE

Federal:
  • The federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided $10 billion in funding over five years to address PFAS. Funding will go through the State Revolving Fund (SRF) program in the form of grants.
  • $5 billion to the EPA under the Safe Drinking Water Act for fiscal years 2022 through 2026;
  • $4 billion to the EPA for Drinking Water SRF capitalization grants for 2022 through 2026; and,
  • $1 billion to the EPA for Clean Water SRF capitalization grants for 2022 through 2026.
  • The US EPA formally submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) its plan to designate PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Superfund Law or CERCLA. The agency expects to issue a final rule in the summer of 2023. Any rule will be subject public comment prior to final publication.
  • The US EPA also submitted its proposal to include PFAS on its Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) that the industry will need to report on.

State:
  • The state 2021 Budget appropriated $30 million to address PFAS contamination. OCWD will continue to lobby for larger appropriations and to build a coalition of other stakeholders who support that request.
  • The Governor’s 2022 budget does not include any specific funding provided for PFAS or CECs but more details are possible in expected budget trailer bills.

OCWD continues to monitor PFAS legislation and encourages water agencies and stakeholders to take action by contacting your federal legislators to advocate for the following priorities:
  • The "polluter pays" principle must be upheld and OCWD is advocating that all PFAS-related legislation and rulemaking must exempt water and wastewater agencies from any liability for PFAS clean-up costs.
  • When setting drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS, the USEPA should utilize the current methodology.

Please view OCWD's Federal Legislative Priorities document which contains more information on these issues and contact OCWD Legislative Affairs Liaison Alicia Dunkin to obtain draft resolutions and letters to legislators that may be used to advocate for these priorities.
LOCAL

  • OCWD continues testing local water supplier wells in compliance with the second and third PFAS monitoring orders formally issued by the state Division of Drinking Water (DDW) in 2021. The orders require a minimum of one year-long quarterly testing, with continued mandated in sources with detections.

  • OCWD and its local water suppliers continue making significant headway on new groundwater treatment facilities with the goal of getting wells back online as soon as possible.

  • There are 59 impacted wells in Orange County.
  • 25 treatment facilities for these wells are in the design phase, 20 are currently being constructed and 14 are now operational.

  • Save the date for OCWD's upcoming webinar, PFAS Impacts and Policy Solutions
  • Thursday, March 24 at 12 p.m.
  • Featured Speakers:
  • Stephen R. Sheldon, Board President, Orange County Water District 
  • Denis Bilodeau, Director, Orange County Water District 
  • Stephan Tucker, General Manager, Water Replenishment District of Southern California
  • Adam Link, Executive Director, California Association of Sanitation Agencies
  • Eric Sapirstein, ENS Resources, Inc.



  • The University of California, Irvine (UCI) led PFAS study is proceeding with the recruitment of a small number of adults from its existing UCI research registry. Broader recruitment, including children, is expected this spring. 1,000 adults and 300 children will be recruited for the study. As part of the study, UCI continues to work on groundwater modeling to try to recreate historical PFAS concentrations in the OC Groundwater Basin. Preliminary results are expected in early Spring.
WASTEWATER

Statement from OC San
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) is an environmental agency whose mission is to protect public health and the environment by safely collecting, treating, and recycling more than 180 million gallons of wastewater that comes through two facilities every day. It is this activity that has us in partnership with the Orange County Water District (OCWD) on the Groundwater Replenishment System where nearly all of the reclaimable wastewater flows from OC San is recycled for beneficial reuse. In addition to purified water, OC San also generates beneficial byproducts from the wastewater treatment process such as biosolids for land application and renewable energy for powering OC San facilities.

To sustain these beneficial uses of wastewater byproducts, OC San is perpetually improving its innovative and cost-effective wastewater treatment operation and collaborating with residential, commercial, and industrial partners to prevent toxic materials and contaminants of emerging concern such as PFAS from entering the sewer. OC San stands with OCWD in shared interest in and support for responsible legislation and environmental regulations that are based on sound science and technology. Specifically, it must be recognized that wastewater treatment plants such as OC San are not the creators or users of PFAS. Contaminants of emerging concern need to be controlled at the source by the manufacturers and users of these products. OC San believes that it is the responsibility of the producers to provide safer alternatives to these compounds and to provide a life-cycle-based product stewardship for existing compounds from production to destruction/disposal.

For more information about how California's wastewater industry is addressing PFAS, please visit the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) website:
MEDIA
PFAS are not exclusive to Orange County or even California. States across the country are in the midst of tackling PFAS in consumer products, groundwater supplies and other forms of contact. OCWD continues to monitor what is happening around the country on this issue. 
For more background information about PFAS, please see the materials below:
FAQ