In conjunction with an announcement by Governor Katie Hobbs, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is providing engineering and technical expertise and $5M of financial resources to address PFAS found in the Globe community’s drinking water by connecting two neighboring small public water systems to the City of Globe’s PFAS-free water source.
The assistance draws from a larger fund comprised of $5M from the state and an additional $42M in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law support received by the state through the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona (Arizona’s State Revolving Fund program).
Arizona DEQ has been proactively sampling water systems in anticipation of U.S. EPA’s National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for certain PFAS compounds, which will apply to approximately 950 Arizona systems. While large systems data under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule testing program are still being collected, Arizona DEQ has found dozens of small water systems serving 3,300 or fewer customers that could require PFAS mitigation when EPA’s regulation goes into effect.
Arizona DEQ has developed a statewide drinking water PFAS mitigation plan that includes testing of public drinking water systems, hydrogeologic evaluations, treatment and infrastructure improvement, and PFAS education for drinking water professionals. More about Arizona DEQ’s PFAS work is available here.
