Water utilities across the country will have to comply with EPA limits on 'forever chemicals' in drinking water by 2029. Orange County got a head start.
John Brundahl , production superintendent, Todd Colvin, chief water systems operator, and Mark Toy, general manager, run the PFAS treatment plant at the Yorba Linda Water District in Orange County, Calif.
The Yorba Linda PFAS treatment plant took over a long, narrow strip of the water district’s parking lot, not quite the length of a football field. A series of giant tanks sit atop a concrete platform. “Honestly, they look like large propane cylinders,” says Todd Colvin, chief water system operator for the district.
PFAS refers to a large class of man-made chemicals used to waterproof and stainproof manufactured products. Some PFAS chemicals have been linked with various health problems, such as weakened immune systems, high cholesterol and certain cancers. Lyster says there was a brief time when Anaheim had the largest PFAS treatment plant. “Kudos to Yorba Linda,” he says, “We’re glad to see somebody else beat it because that means somebody else is addressing the issue.”
So Anaheim and Yorba Linda fast-tracked construction of those big filtration tanks, to get their wells back in action.By the EPA’s standards, Anaheim’s remaining wells are now considered contaminated. Lyster says the city will expand its PFAS treatment capacity to comply with the federal rule by 2029. All told, building PFAS filtration for all 19 of Anaheim’s wells is projected to cost $200 million.
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