Dripping faucet
As communities such as Horsham in Montgomery County and Warminster and Warrington in Bucks County deal with water contaminated with chemicals, Upper Makefield officials decided to test the town’s public wells to be safe.
According to Township Manager Jim Pascale, the community hired a firm to test the local wells for Upper Makefield’s small water system to be “proactive.” The firm tested for chemicals perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which have been suspected of causing various health problems.
According to EPA guidelines issued earlier this year, water samples should not have PFOS and PFOA levels more than 70 PPT (parts per trillion.)
Samples from the town’s four wells used for public water all showed no levels that went over the allowable amount. One well did have PFOS and PFOA levels that are 14.9 ppt, which is 55 ppts below the maximum allowed amount, officials said.
“We think we’re in pretty good shape,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Dan Rattigan said. “We think this is something the public ought to know.”
The board directed water and sewer consultant Thomas Zarko of CKS engineering to continue regular testing of the wells over the next year.
