PFAS

GREENE COUNTY SANITARY ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT IS PROACTIVE ABOUT PFAS

Greene County Sanitary Engineering Department has been providing clean and reliable drinking water for 45 years. It is a responsibility we take very seriously. With that, comes the need to meet regulatory standards, such as a new proposal from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) that addresses PFAS nationwide.

What are PFAS? 

  • Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances 
  • Widely used in firefighting foams, at military sites and fire training facilities
  • Large family of man-made chemical compounds used in everyday products since the 1950S
    • Waterproof fabrics
    • Food packaging
    • Personal care products
    • Non-stick cookware

USEPA PFAS Proposals

JUNE 2022: USEPA issued new lifetime health advisory (LHA) levels to manage the risk for four PFAS known to be detected in drinking water. This rule provides a nationwide, health-protective level for these specific PFAS.

MARCH 2023: USEPA announced the proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation. If finalized, the proposal would require public water systems to monitor for six PFAS contaminants in drinking water, notify consumers if levels are found in exceedance of the Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs), and reduce the levels of these PFAS in drinking water if they exceed the proposed standards. USEPA is expected to finalize this regulation by the end of 2023 or early 2024.

PFAS Stock Photo
Filling Water
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GCSED's Proactive Approach

  • In 2020, GCSED voluntarily sampled for PFAS in our seven water systems:
    • GCSED-owned and operated facilities were non-detect for PFAS.
    • Samples collected from wholesaler-sourced water (neighboring utilities) had low-level detections of PFAS.
  • GCSED has and will comply with all state and national PFAS proposed and final regulations.
  • ‘Greene Forward’ – capital investment projects to reduce dependency on wholesaler water.

Greene Forward

GCSED has begun an improvement initiative called ‘Greene Forward.’ Two capital improvement projects included in this initiative - Hilltop Wellfield and Northwest Regional Plant Upgrade - will reduce our dependency on wholesale water with low-level PFAS detections. These projects involve expanding our capacity and increasing the size of our water mains that are currently served by neighboring water utilities. These projects will also allow us to deliver Greene County sourced water from our Northwest Regional Plant to two of the three areas with low levels of PFAS. For more information about the two capital improvement projects mentioned above, please visit greeneforward.com.

GCSED Contact information 

667 Dayton-Xenia Rd. 

Xenia, OH 45386  

Phone: (937) 562-7450