Dear Water System Customer,

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) recently tested our water system for compounds known as Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) as part of a statewide investigation of community water supplies. PFAS are a group of thousands of manmade substances that have been produced in the United States since the 1940s and utilized for a variety of applications ranging from water and stain-proofing to firefighting. Some PFAS have been phased out of production due to environmental and human health concerns, yet they persist in the environment and may contaminate surface and ground waters. 

Neither the Illinois EPA nor the U.S. EPA have yet developed enforceable drinking water standards for PFAS. In the interim, Illinois EPA has developed health-based Draft Guidance Levels for the small number of PFAS for which there is appropriate information to do so.  There is not enough information available to scientists to develop health-based Draft Guidance Levels for most PFAS. Draft Guidance Levels are intended to be protective of all people consuming the water over a lifetime of exposure. It is important to understand that Draft Guidance Levels are not regulatory limits for drinking water. Rather, the Draft Guidance Levels are benchmarks against which sampling results are compared to determine if additional investigation or other response action is necessary. 

Illinois EPA testing has determined that one or more PFAS were detected in our water system at values greater than or equal to the Illinois EPA health-based Draft Guidance Levels, as provided in the table below.

Our water may contain other PFAS at concentrations greater than or equal to the minimum reporting levels. However, neither the Illinois EPA nor the U.S. EPA currently have Draft Guidance Levels for these additional compounds.

PFAS are present in many consumer goods, including food packaging and personal care products, and scientists have found values of PFAS in blood of nearly all individuals tested. Exposure to high levels of PFAS may cause adverse health effects such as increased cholesterol levels, increased risk for thyroid disease, low infant birth weights, reduced response to vaccines, pregnancy-induced hypertension and increased risk of liver and kidney cancer as seen in studies of laboratory animals. Exposure to PFAS above the recommended Draft Guidance Levels does not guarantee that a person will get sick or an adverse health effect will occur. Draft Guidance Levels are conservative estimates. The possible health effects from PFAS are dependent on how much a person is exposed to and how long they are exposed to it.  Exposure to PFAS above recommended Draft Guidance Levels for periods of time may mean that a person is at a greater risk of experiencing these adverse effects.

Pleasant Valley Public Water District has taken measures to respond to the results of this testing. As a proactive measure(s) to protect our drinking water supply, Pleasant Valley Public Water District is working to:

• continue to monitor PFAS values through quarterly sampling

• identify which water source intake/well is affected

• isolate the affected water source intake to reduce levels

• investigate methods to reduce PFAS levels in our water

• investigate funding sources for system upgrades to reduce PFAS in our water

Based on these initial results, Pleasant Valley Public Water District will perform quarterly sampling beginning July through September, 2021 and will keep the community updated and informed.

 Additional information regarding PFAS, the statewide PFAS investigation network, and the impact to public health can be found in the attached fact sheet as well as on the Illinois EPA PFAS webpage.

The confirmed sampling results for the District are also available on Illinois EPA’s Drinking Water Watch system.