The Fayetteville area’s drinking water met safety standards in 2024, the Public Works Commission’s latest water quality report says, but the amount of PFAS “forever chemicals” in the water will have to be reduced to meet upcoming restrictions.

The Fayetteville PWC released its annual water quality report on May 7. It covers the condition of its drinking water supplies in the 2024 calendar year. The PWC is the city-owned electricity, water and sewer utility for Fayetteville and surrounding areas.

“In 2024, PWC treated over 10.6 billion gallons of water while remaining in 100% compliance with the EPA regulations. PWC continuously monitors water quality by performing more than 150,000 tests a year,” a news release accompanying the report says.

Here are some of the findings:

PFAS ‘forever chemicals’

PFAS chemicals — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are man-made chemicals that date back to the 1940s, the report says. There are thousands of variations. These chemicals have been used in cookware, food packaging, firefighting foam and many other common things. In recent times, PFAS chemicals have been linked to cancers, decreased fertility, developmental delays or effects on children and other health problems, the Environmental Protection Agency says.

They are often called “forever chemicals” because they are slow to naturally break down in the environment.

The EPA has a recommended forever chemicals limit of 40 parts per trillion (ppt) until water utilities install filtration systems to remove the PFAS from their drinking water. In 2031, restrictions on some (but not all PFAS chemicals) are scheduled to be set at 4 parts per trillion.

Quarterly tests for PFAS at the PWC’s two water treatment plants in 2024 reported:

  • The P.O. Hoffer plant on the Cape Fear River had running annual averages of 5.15 ppt to 11.03 ppt.
  • The Glenville Lake plant had running annual averages of 4.34 ppt to 20.18 ppt.

The PWC and other drinking water providers have until 2031 (previously the deadline was 2029) to install filtration systems to reduce the amount of PFAS in their water. The PWC anticipates spending $49.8 million to install a PFAS filter system at the Glenville Lake plant and $66.1 million at the Hoffer plant.

The PWC also looked for five types of PFAS chemicals in its drinking water distribution lines. “The samples were analyzed for a range of contaminants, including pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other emerging pollutants,” the report says.

Its findings ranged from 1 ppt to 10 ppt, with the chemical GenX PFAS at the 1 ppt finding. GenX is known in the region from Fayetteville to Wilmington because the Chemours Co. plant near Fayetteville used to discharge it into the Cape Fear River and the atmosphere. This month, President Donald Trump’s administration announced it would cancel the previous administration’s plan to limit how much GenX is allowed to be in drinking water. 

1,4-dioxane present in low levels

1.4-dioxane is an unregulated contaminant, but the EPA advises a limit of 35 micrograms per liter in drinking water, the PWC’s report says. The EPA says exposure to 1,4 dioxane poses a risk to the liver, and is a risk factor for cancer.

The chemical has been discharged into the Cape Fear River basin, CityView has previously reported.

In 2024, 1,4 dioxane levels in water at the Hoffer treatment plant on the Cape Fear River were tested monthly. In eight of the 12 months, the amount was too low to measure, the PWC water quality report says. In the remaining four months, the amount was 0.12 micrograms per liter to 0.37 micrograms per liter, well below the 35 micrograms recommendation.

Disinfectants, fluoride, other things in the water

Many other contaminants are tested for. Here are some of 2024’s findings:

  • Disinfectant byproducts: 27 to 49 parts per billion — below the limit of 80 ppb.
  • Chlorine and chloramine disinfectants: 1.61 to 3.23 parts per million — below the limit of 4 ppm.
  • Fluoride: 0.56 ppm — below the limit of 4 ppm.
  • Nitrates and nitrites: none detected. The limits are 10 ppm and 1 ppm.
  • Organic carbon: The removal ratio’s lowest running annual average was 1.38, and the monthly removal ratio was 1.41 to 1.59. The running average is supposed to be below 1.00, the report says, unless there is an alternative method to comply. The report says the PWC was not in violation of this standard.
  • E. coli bacteria: no positive samples in the distribution system.
  • Sodium: 29.5 ppm. The report says there is no EPA limit for sodium.
  • Sulfate: 45 ppm. The EPA suggests (but does not require) limiting sulfate to 250 ppm.
  • pH levels: 7.2 to 8.7. The EPA suggests pH levels between 6.5 and 8.5.

Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.

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Paul Woolverton is CityView's senior reporter, covering courts, local politics, and Cumberland County affairs. He joined CityView from The Fayetteville Observer, where he worked for more than 30 years.