State offers aid for small Iowa communities to meet PFAS monitoring

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has a free, voluntary monitoring program to help small communities meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initial monitoring mandates for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — sometimes called “forever chemicals” — in drinking water.

The EPA ruled in June that all public water systems have three years to complete initial PFAS monitoring as part of an ongoing plan to reduce the prevalence of the chemicals that are linked to various health concerns.

Kathleen Lee, a senior environmental specialist, said Iowa DNR will not have a state regulation on the books until next fall, which would leave little time for the state to complete its initial PFAS monitoring before a 2027 deadline.

“We determined that would not necessarily be enough time for all of our small water supplies to complete their initial monitoring,” Lee said. “By offering a free volunteer monitoring program, we would induce our small supplies to get started on their monitoring.”

Systems serving populations less than 10,000 people have until Oct. 18 to sign up for the voluntary monitoring program. Iowa DNR will pay for the shipping and initial monitoring costs for systems that join the program, and some will qualify for reduced testing costs when compliance monitoring begins later.

“By participating in this program, they can save $780 just on sampling costs,” Lee said. “That’s a lot for a water supply that may only serve several hundred people, so we’re happy to be able to assist our small communities with this monitoring cost.”

Lee said the program also will stagger the testing to work with the State Hygienic Laboratory’s capacity.

“We don’t want public water supplies to wait until the last minute, and then there not be enough laboratories available to analyze,” Lee said.

The state has over $1 million allocated for the voluntary program from its revolving fund. So far, about 200 water suppliers have signed up.

Eligible water systems should have received sign up information from Lee in late August, and she said the state will reach out to the qualifying water supplies that have not signed up.

PFAS refer to a large group of chemical compounds that have been used to make materials that are water, grease or stain resistant. The compounds are very difficult to break down and can accumulate in humans and the environment.

Iowa DNR already has tested some of the larger water systems in Iowa, many of which Lee said are participating in an EPA monitoring program.

This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.