The borough said further testing is planned after the chemicals were detected near the Mat-Su school.
WASILLA, Alaska - State testing has found PFAS in groundwater near Cottonwood Creek Elementary School , prompting additional investigation in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, according to a borough press release issued Tuesday.
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation informed borough and school district officials in late March after sampling near the school turned up the chemicals during a broader statewide testing program. That program began under new federal requirements for monitoring PFAS in public water systems. The rules, adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2024, require initial testing of certain water systems across Alaska.
The Mat-Su Borough School District has already responded to guidance from state regulators and notified families and staff connected to Cottonwood Creek Elementary, the borough said.
PFAS, a large class of human-made chemicals, have been widely used in consumer products and industrial materials designed to repel moisture, grease or heat. They have also been associated with some firefighting foams once used to combat fuel-based fires.
Borough officials said no source has been identified for the groundwater contamination near the school. They said the detection alone does not show where the chemicals came from, when they entered the area or how they moved through the environment.
The borough said its fire service areas stopped using or storing PFAS-containing firefighting foam in 2017. Alaska’s statewide restriction on those foams took effect Jan. 1, 2025.
Local officials said they will expand sampling to other parts of the borough where PFAS could be present and expect public meetings in any community where contamination is confirmed. Representatives from DEC and the Alaska Department of Health are expected to take part in those meetings.
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