Veolia Advances PFAS Mitigation in Drinking Water With More Than 30 Treatment Projects Launched in the U.S.

Regulatory News:

Veolia (Paris:VIE), the largest private operator of water services in the United States, has reached a new milestone in its treatment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) chemicals in America’s drinking water, with more than 30 sites now reporting no detectable levels of regulated PFAS chemicals. The advanced effort includes new treatment installed at 17 drinking water wells in the state of New York, with construction underway on additional projects in four states as Veolia continues to address PFAS contamination in drinking water supplies across the country.

PFAS contamination in drinking water is a critical challenge due to its widespread presence and persistent nature. The U.S. has been one of the forerunners in the fight against this problem, with regulations in place in several states and the imminent introduction by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the first mandatory rules requiring treatment of certain PFAS in drinking water systems.

Using its global experience, Veolia is able to treat regulated PFAS at scale with proven systems based on its expertise in technologies such as activated carbon or nanofiltration, while evaluating more advanced treatment materials and innovating new treatment technologies. In the U.S. Veolia, as a leading regulated utility and operator of municipal water systems, has moved quickly to provide effective solutions for communities affected by PFAS contamination in drinking water. To date, Veolia has treated more than 2.1 billion gallons of drinking water in the country using more than 1 million pounds of granular activated carbon and other materials that separate regulated PFAS and other contaminants from water, reducing their levels below the regulatory thresholds.

Suitable treatment is essential to help separate PFAS from drinking water effectively, and Veolia has conducted almost 10,000 water sample analyses in the U.S. in the past five years to determine and implement the best treatment options across a range of source water chemistries, physical site constraints and equipment lifecycle costs.

In all the geographies concerned, where the regulatory framework has moved towards a proactive approach to dealing with PFAS, Veolia wants to draw on the operational expertise acquired in the United States as well as on its research capacities across the world to fight against PFAS pollution and other micropollutants, in order to offer an efficient and affordable solution at scale.