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guidance put them in potential hazardous territory, and the town shut down some wells and reopened a treatment plant. Thornton has also announced that past test results are now well over the lowered guidance and has changed well sources and sought new treatment methods to remove PFAS.

PFAS testing

The Forever Problem: “Forever chemicals,” also known as PFAS, are an increasing toxic burden on Colorado and the United States, and The Colorado Sun is committed to coverage of public health threats posed by the ubiquitous consumer chemicals. We continue to follow threats from the chemicals to drinking water, croplands and wildlife, and the extensive costs required to clean them up.

More Colorado communities are likely to follow. State water quality offi cials have said a 2019 statewide testing program including most local water agencies gave more than 100 agencies PFAS results that are above the new guidance, and need to be retested.

State and local news releases list the many potential hazards of PFAS contamination, including lowered immunity, lower birth weights and more. But they have also emphasized that drinking current water supplies is not dangerous or cause for a water crisis. Water agencies note that no current testing methods can reveal PFAS at the extremely low thresholds of 0.004 ppt and 0.02 ppt now suggested by the EPA.

The testing threshold for South Adams, alongside many other agencies, starts at 2 ppt, and with Denver Water dilution, the agency is once again below those thresholds, said Abel Moreno, South Adams district manager.

“The EPA has moved the goal posts, and we are taking steps to reduce the presence of PFAS even further,” Moreno said.

Part of the confusion over the EPA and PFAS is the federal agency’s distinction between “guidelines” and “standards.” The EPA issues guidelines, considered strong suggestions and signals to state health departments, when research is still being done and the science is not settled. State health departments and environmental groups are hopeful the EPA will turn its PFAS drinking water guidelines into enforceable standards through regulations issued this fall.

South Adams has shut off wells near a metro fi refi ghting training facility. The district believes other wells it owns may have been contaminated by fi refi ghting-related runoff from the former Stapleton airport. There has not been any connection established between PFAS in South Adams County water supplies and PFAS contamination at the nearby Suncor Energy refi nery, Moreno said.

South Adams is scraping corners of its budget to fi nd the $2.75 million it expects to pay to Denver Water through the rest of this year. The agency had a previous backup contract with Denver Water for 2,000 acre-feet, and will now use that water and buy more. The district is trying to avoid raising customer rates for costs related to PFAS contamination, Moreno said.

Moreno said he thinks South Adams County has a good chance at some of the $130 million it needs for a plant treating PFAS and a chemical taint dating back to 2012, from industrial solvents that reached groundwater.

“We believe that we are going to get Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding,” Moreno said. “What we don’t know is how much.”

When the EPA issued the new lowered guidance in mid-June, Moreno added, “we were dealing probably with a handful or so of other utilities in the state. Now we’re dealing with a lot of others that are possibly going to be competing for the same dollars.”

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun. com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

Old-Fashioned Summer Picnic

SATURDAY, AUG. 13 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Adams County Museum 9601 Henderson Road Brighton, CO 80601

Featuring the Vintage Motorcycle Club (dozens of bikes from the early 1900s to 1990s), a stilt walker, free ice cream (while supplies last), black smith demonstrations and games! Entry into the museum buildings for free!

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