PFAS Contaminated Tap Water

Clean Cape Fear firmly believes the best way to end PFAS contamination is to stop PFAS pollution at the source. Communities, utilities, government agencies, scientists, and environmental and health advocacy groups must all work together to hold PFAS polluters accountable for their role in contaminating our air, soil, and water with these forever chemicals. While we work towards this common goal we also believe it’s important to immediately protecting ourselves from PFAS contamianted tap water.

Since 2017, Clean Cape Fear has worked with multiple regional public water utilities to ensure voluntary testing for PFAS in tap water while also pressuring all levels of government to stop contaminating our drinking water supplies.

Southeastern NC Water Testing

PFAS contamination coming from Chemours’ Fayetteville Works location has impaired the drinking water supply for approx. 500,000 residents in the Lower Cape Fear region who rely on the Cape Fear River as their primary source of drinking water. To our knowledge Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) and Brunswick County Public Utilities (BCPU) are the only local water districts voluntarily testing for PFAS in tap their tap water. To see the most current results click the links below.

New Hanover County

Brunswick County

Pender County

Private Well Owners

Point of Use Filters

Even as we continue fighting for upstream accountability and stronger drinking water protections, many residents need access to immediate water alternatives. Point-of-use (POU) filters are systems that clean the water right where you drink or cook with it. Before buying a filter, check whether your home’s tap water has been tested for PFAS and other contaminants. You can:

• Review your local utility’s Annual Water Quality Report. Your water bill will tell you who provides your water. Visit the provider’s website to access the most current report.

• Request PFAS test results from your provider or use a certified independent lab. NC’s Dept. of Health & Human Services provides a list of certified labs to contact.

• Compare your results to EPA’s national PFAS standards (April 2024).

If you’re on a private well, you are responsible for testing your well for PFAS. If you live in the Cape Fear River basin you may qualify for free well testing paid for by Chemours. Visit NC’s Dept. of Environmental Quality’s website for more details.

Filtration Technology

We learned the hard way, the type of filtration technology matters when trying to remove all PFAS from tap water in the lower Cape Fear region. While the chemical industry has “voluntarily” phased out the most notorious PFAS compounds, like PFOA and PFOS, from commercial use in the United States they are replacing these compounds with shorter-chain PFAS like GenX. GenX may bioaccumulate less in the human blood than PFOA but GenX and other short chain PFAS appear harder to filter from tap water than PFOA. Which means, the type of filtration used to remove PFAS currently in commercial use matters.

SIDE NOTE: We believe the chemical industry and regulators should use the precautionary principle regarding PFAS. When there is a lack of reliable scientific data on the health risks associated with PFAS than the chemical should be treated as toxic until its safety can be proven with scientific certainty. The burden of proof should fall on the chemical industry—NOT the American public. Unfortunately for decades federal agencies like the FDA, Dept. of Defense, and EPA failed to hold PFAS manufacturers accountable and failed to protect communities like ours from exposures to these forever chemicals.

Filter Buying Guides

Once narrowing down the best filtration technology for your individual needs, now it’s time to pick a good filter. Here’s some other important questions to ask:

• What else is in my water?

• Do I need a portable or permanent option?

• What certifications does this filter carry?

• How often will I need to replace filters, and what’s the cost?

• Can I verify performance through independent testing?

NOTE: Even the best filters stop working if not replaced on schedule. Always follow manufacturer guidelines.

NC Dept. of Health & Human Service Undersink Filter Guide

In 2022, NC’s Dept. of Health & Human Services created a filter guide for residents in southeastern NC dealing with excessive levels of PFAS contamination coming from the Chemours Fayetteville Works facility.

Environmental Working Group’s Countertop Filter Guide

Environmental Working Group has created two national guides to help Americans dealing with some of the most common types of PFAS compounds. Use the “water filter guide” to enter in your zip code and learn more about the quality of your tap water to get filter recommendations. The “PFAS water filter guide” tested common water pitchers and countertop dispenser to provide cost-effective choices for consumers who are unable to install under sink filters.

Whole House vs. Under Sink Filters

One of the most common questions we get asked: Should I install a whole house filter to remove PFAS from entering my home? This is commonly referred to as “point of entry” filtration. In 2017, we reached out to Dr. Detlef Knappe with NC State University. Dr. Knappe stated under sink RO filters, called “point of use” filtration, are adequate enough to filter out PFAS--assuming you are fortunate enough to afford this alternative water treatment option.  Dr. Knappe reminded us that only 1% of household water use is for drinking and cooking. Filtering your entire house includes filtering water usage for laundry, bathing, dishwashing, toilet use, etc. Whole house RO filters are costly and may not be necessary since these filters treat the entire house--including high volume usage areas that may pose little health effects.  

In recent years, scientific consensus has become less certain about dermal exposures to PFAS and there’s ongoing debate regarding the risks of showering and bathing with PFAS contaminated tap water. However, whole house filters pose other serious concerns—especially in warm climates where these filters are known to strip important disinfectants from your house’s internal plumbing.

Additionally, whole house RO filters waste a lot of water.  The filtration ratio for reverse osmosis is 5:1, meaning for every five gallons of water you filter, only one gallon can be used.  That's a lot of wastewater and one super expensive water bill--think five times more expensive than normal. 

 Filtration Studies

We also understand highly contaminated communities cannot afford continued exposure to PFAS chemicals while regulators and government agencies work to remove source pollution—which can sometimes take years. That’s why we created this repository of under-sink filter studies conducted by Dr. Detlef Knappe’s lab. Clean Cape Fear does not endorse any of these filters. We simply want communities to have access to the best possible information.

***Due to the nature and uniqueness of the PFAS chemicals detected in the lower Cape Fear River basin we are only publishing filter studies conducted by Dr. Knappe’s lab at NC State.***

*** If you are an under-sink filter company and your product was independently tested by Dr. Knappe’s lab, please click here to send us your lab results and we will update this page with your report.***

Under-sink Filter Study:

The information below was first presented at Clean Cape Fear’s third and final Water Wednesday public forum in 2017.

Click here to view additional scientific presentations from this event.

Through Dr. Detelf Knappe's research on filtration methods, we learned that under-the-sink reverse osmosis (RO) filters did the best job of removing GenX and other PFASs in our finished tap water.  Granular Active Carbon (GAC) did not seem effective at all in removing any of the PFAS.  

Below are slides from Dr. Knappe's research in 2017 showing how five different under-the-sink filtration methods performed at removing all these PFASs in our tap water.  

Note:  The top graph shows GenX and those chemicals that have KNOWN analytical testing standards.  The bottom graph shows ALL the PFASs found in our tap water--including C3 (PFMOAA).  Notice the tiny red bar in the bottom graph, that is GenX.  This should put into perspective why it is extremely important we focus on more than just GenX, we need to focus on every PFASs in our tap water.

***The below are additional notes from our third Water Wednesday public forum in 2017.***

Dr. Knappe stated under sink RO filters are adequate enough to filter out the PFAS--assuming you are fortunate enough to afford this alternative water treatment option.  Whole house RO filters are costly and not necessary since these filters treat the entire house including showers, toilets, etc.--all high volume usage areas that currently pose little health effects.  Dr. Knappe reminded us that only 1% of household water use is for drinking and cooking.

Additionally, whole house RO filters waste a lot of water.  The filtration ratio for reverse osmosis is 5:1, meaning for every five gallons of water you filter, only one gallon can be used.  That's a lot of wastewater and one super expensive water bill--think five times more expensive than normal. 

Dr. Knappe encouraged more focus on PFMOAA, also known as C3.  Little is known about C3, yet it was detected at levels 50 - 100 times GREATER than GenX.  There are zero analytical standards for C3--which means, even less is known about their health effects on humans.  It is for this reason, Dr. Knappe cautions drinking the tap water--even at the new DHHS 'health goal' of 140 ppt. 

Other Studies:

A Wilmington resident commissioned a separate home filtration study by NC State. Click here to see the full report.