PFAS & Wastewater Treatment: Preparing for What’s Ahead
Join Dr. Fedler for a focused look at PFAS in wastewater and biosolids. This on-demand webinar explores sources, regulatory updates, and practical considerations for utilities preparing for upcoming monitoring and treatment requirements.
PFAS | Frequently Asked Questions
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Wastewater plants receive PFAS from industrial sources, households, landfills, and stormwater. Because most PFAS resist degradation during conventional treatment processes, they remain in the effluent and accumulate in biosolids.
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Not yet — but regulations are coming. EPA has initiated effluent guideline studies, with proposed rules expected in late 2025 and final rules anticipated in 2027. Utilities should begin preparing for monitoring and reporting requirements.
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Typical PFAS detected in wastewater include PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, and PFBS. Even though some of these compounds were phased out in the U.S., they persist in the environment and continue entering wastewater systems.
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EPA recommends that utilities start monitoring biosolids, identify industrial sources in their service area, and implement pretreatment measures to reduce PFAS at the source. Early planning is key as regulations tighten.
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Options fall into two categories:
Non-destructive technologies like activated carbon, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, and ion exchange, which remove PFAS from water.
Destructive technologies such as electrochemical oxidation, plasma, photocatalysis, sonolysis, and thermal processes, which break PFAS down — though most are still emerging or small-scale.
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A copy of the presentation can be found here.
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