The Portland Water District’s water is free of PFAS, district officials announced after receiving results of tests conducted this summer.
State officials have stepped up testing for PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, since finding them in farm fields and some water supplies around the state. They have mandated testing in schools, nursing homes, water systems and elsewhere to determine if filters or other measures are needed to lower the levels of the chemicals in Mainers’ drinking water.
Sebago Lake from Douglas Mountain. Shawn Patrick Ouelette/Staff Photographer
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a class of thousands of manmade chemicals that have been used for decades in a vast array of consumer goods, including nonstick cookware, stain-resistant carpeting and fabrics, waterproof clothing and grease-resistant food packaging. Called forever chemicals because of how long they take to break down, the compounds have been linked to compromised immune and cardiovascular systems, decreased fertility, low birth weights and several types of cancer.
This was the first test for PFAS for the water district since 2019. Test results arrived last week and have been posted on the water district’s website.
The district tested for 25 different PFAS chemicals and found no detectable levels of any of them in the district’s two sources of water – Sebago Lake and groundwater in Standish.
No detectable level means there are fewer than 2 parts per trillion. Maine’s current safety standard for PFAS in water is 20 ppt and several small public water supplies and schools have now tested above that level and must install filters.
The federal government has said some PFAS chemicals pose a threat to public health at levels well below what is detectable using current technology.
The Portland Water District found one detectable forever chemical in its 2019 tests. It found 2 parts per trillion of that PFAS chemical in Sebago Lake, a level well below the state’s safety standard.
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