Program that helps monitor PFAS, water quality is running out of money - The Arizona Republic

Program that helps monitor PFAS, water quality is running out of money

As feds ready rules on 'forever chemicals,' Arizona's water monitoring fund is going broke
Clara Migoya

A state program that helps small water systems monitor contaminants to ensure safe drinking water for Arizonans could be insolvent by 2026, the Department of Environmental Quality says. The budget crunch comes as federal regulators prepare to impose new rules about harmful "forever chemicals" in water.

The Monitoring Assistance Program will not disappear but is likely to increase in cost and operate differently, the agency said.

The long-term reason for the deficit in the budget is rising costs and the fact that fees for the public water systems that take part in the program have remained the same for nearly two decades, officials said. The fees fund the program.

The cost of the program is expected to increase once "forever chemicals" are classified as a regulated contaminant and sampling and testing become mandatory.

The state program already helps small systems sample for nearly 100 chronic contaminants in drinking water, among them heavy metals like arsenic, lead, selenium, mercury and uranium. The forever chemicals, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, would be the latest, expensive addition.

The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to issue a ruling on six kinds of PFAS by late 2023. Water systems would have three years to ensure compliance.

A long list of contaminants to monitor

The Safe Drinking Water Act was passed in 1974, and since then, the list of contaminants to watch for has been growing. That list began with 22 contaminants in 1976, jumped to 84 by 1992, and reached a total of 91 in 2001, where it remains.

The greatest change happened between 1989 and 1991 when the list nearly doubled with 27 additions and 11 revisions to existing regulations.

"It created some angst, but over time people figured it out," said Alan Roberson, executive director at the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators. The complications, especially for small systems, he said, are that monitoring is only one of a long list of things that systems have to deal with.

In the same period, ADEQ created the Monitoring Assistance Program. Arizona is one of a handful of states that operate monitoring programs for small systems, Roberson said. More than 40 states leave small water systems to monitor on their own.

In Arizona, about 90% of all public water systems work with the state program, since participation is mandatory for anyone serving less than 10,000 water connections. The annual cost is a $250 base fee and $2.57 per every connection served.

Three large public water systems participated voluntarily in the state program, and carried a large percentage of its costs, but they dropped out in the last year.

"It moved up the time frame in which we needed to deal with the issue and fix the insolvency, but it didn't cause the problem," said Randall Matas, ADEQ Water Quality Division deputy director.

How the state program helps small systems comply

There is no analysis of whether state monitoring programs result in higher compliance in comparison to states where small water systems monitor on their own. But in Arizona the improvement was evident.

Before the monitoring program, about 26% of public water systems were in compliance with sampling and reporting regulations. Today 99% are, said Matas.

The violations were often connected to missing samples or reporting issues. It was connected to the "increasing complexity" of the safe drinking water standards, said Matas.

The monitoring program helped ensure systems completed sampling and reports on time.

"There are many rotating schedules and it’s a lot for small systems and operators to keep track of on their own," said Blake Anderson, who operates six small water systems in Navajo County through Mogollon Water Management LLC. Part of his work is to track total coliform bacteria, disinfection byproducts, minimum residual disinfection levels, lead and copper.

The state program monitors such chronic contaminants specifically.

"And those are the things that are the easiest to get missed by smaller systems. It's easy to forget about something that you are only sampling for once every three or nine years," Anderson added.

After years of being in compliance, or if they are far from obvious contamination sources, water systems can reduce their monitoring routine. Testing is required less often, every three, six or nine years, as long as the operators do it on time and the levels of the contaminant remain under the limit.

"If you screw it up and you miss one of those samples, you restart your monitoring period. Because you have a violation now you start from square one," Anderson said. After that, the systems must test quarterly and work their way again to the nine-year period, which means higher costs.

The monitoring program lowers the cost of collection, transportation and lab tests for small water systems by securing bulk pricing. It can also save time.

"They run a bunch of tests that I would have to do myself. Being a small water system that is a lot of strain on the workforce," said Matthew Howard, who serves water to about 1,800 people in Yavapai County with Congress Domestic Water Improvement District.

If the program was not there, that would mean small water systems would do all those tests themselves and likely pay more for it.

Public health 'is our primary responsibility'

Sometimes violations don't stem from missing tests but from unsafe levels of contaminants. Both are connected.

In the 1990s, about 75% of the systems were missing tests, which meant that if a regulated contaminant exceeded limits, the violation was unknown, Matas said.

The state program is essential for ensuring that Arizonans know what is in their water and to ensure that water will not harm their health, ADEQ, water system operators and environmental professionals agree.

"If the monitoring program is not funded properly, it will mean that people, primarily in rural areas, are at risk and that those systems will be less likely to identify problem pollutants earlier," said Sandy Bahr, director of the Sierra Club's Grand Canyon Chapter.

"People should know that they are entitled to know what is in their drinking water," she said.

The agency could go different ways to make sure the program's budget does not hit rock bottom. It could raise annual fees to participating systems, charge the program cost with a different formula, or find new funding sources. The agency says it's "actively engaging" with the public water systems to explore alternative solutions.

A fee increase could become a financial burden for small water systems that are required to participate in the program to ensure they provide clean drinking water. But it's not a matter of choice.

"Whatever the cost is, it's worth it. Public health is our primary responsibility," said Anderson, the operator in Navajo County. "You have to maintain trust in the community and a big factor of that is you should be able to run your tap knowing you are getting good water."

ADEQ is also suggesting improvements to the program, such as adding "triggered monitoring." This is something that had been requested by participating systems, Matas said.

As the program works right now, if a water system finds contaminant above safe levels, it's left on its own to sample further, which is a challenge for many of the small systems, he added. With this change, the state program would be able to step in and assist water systems when a problem is detected.

The change would increase program integrity and help ensure clean drinking water for Arizonans, Matas added.

State assistance for solving water quality also running low

The small water systems funds, which run through the technical assistance program, is the other side of the coin to the monitoring assistance program.

Once monitoring detects contaminants above advised levels, the fund helps small water systems treat for it.

"It's been a lifesaver for a lot of small systems," Matas said.

For the past two years, the Legislature has not appropriated funds for it, and "it's starting to run pretty low at this point."

The same fund gives assistance for a wide number of issues, including emergencies.

Some years back Pinedale Estates in Navajo County had to spend about $20,000 to fix a major water loss in the system, said Anderson, who works as a contractor for the system.

"In the grand scheme of water systems that is pretty insignificant. For the city of Phoenix that is probably a rounding error. But for Pinedale Estates that is nearly 50% of their income for the year," he added.

"Having those funds available when you need them is really critical."

Costs will rise for PFAS water treatment

The final ruling for six PFAS chemicals (PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, GenX chemicals, PFHxS and PFBS) is expected late this year.

To some extent, all water systems are likely to face financial challenges once PFAS regulations kick in, Roberson said. There are concerns over the monitoring and water treatment, and also about the supply chain logistics for the design, construction and maintenance of treatment plants, he added.

About 7,000 drinking-water systems across the country, 15% of the total, are expected to require treatment for one or more PFAS, according to an analysis with EPA data by Black and Veatch, an international consulting engineering firm. The national cost is estimated at $35 to $60 billion total.

There is no clarity on what the cost of monitoring for these chemicals will be in Arizona

The agency said the public can review the program's informative slides and email their ideas to map@azdeq.gov by Tuesday.

Clara Migoya covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to clara.migoya@arizonarepublic.com.

Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.