What You Need to Know About PFAS in 2026

If it feels like you’re hearing about PFAS everywhere in the news these days, you aren't imagining things. Between new federal regulations, new scientific studies, and a flurry of high-profile lawsuits, "forever chemicals" have moved from academic circles to mass media. 

One thing that’s important to understand: This is not due to groundbreaking scientific discoveries. The scientific and medical communities have known about the dangers of PFAS for decades. What’s changed is that the regulatory and legal systems are catching up, and media is covering it. 

As someone who has been working in water quality for almost 25 years (including testifying in front of Congress as an expert witness), my goal is to cut through the noise and help you understand why reducing your PFAS exposure is so critical.   

Quick Summary 

• What are PFAS?: PFAS are man-made chemicals that do not break down in the environment. 
• How PFAS contaminate water: PFAS contaminate drinking water primarily through industrial wastewater discharge, the use of firefighting foam, and leaching from landfills. 
• Health risks: Exposure is linked to cancer, immune suppression, and developmental delays. 
• Regulatory gaps and delays: In April 2024, the EPA established the first enforceable limit on PFAS concentrations in municipal drinking water. But since then they’ve asked the courts to roll back parts of the regulation and push compliance timelines out to 2031. 
• What you can do: To reduce your exposure, look for a filter specifically certified for NSF/ANSI Standard 53 or 58 for PFAS. 

What Are PFAS? 

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is a category of chemicals that includes almost 15,000 individual substances recognized by the EPA that have chemically stable carbon-fluorine bonds. This gives PFAS unique properties, including the ability to repel water and oil. These capabilities make them popular in everyday products like waterproof clothing, long-lasting cosmetics, nonstick pans, and stain resistant fabrics/carpets.  

Because they are highly resistant to fire, PFAS are also used in specialty firefighting foams (i.e., Aqueous Film Forming Foams (AFFF)), which are used to fight flammable liquid fires and suppress flammable vapors at places like airports, military installations, and chemical factories.   

How Do PFAS Contaminate Drinking Water? 

PFAS contaminate water when manufacturers discharge PFAS-containing wastewater into rivers and waste streams and when firefighting foam is deployed. For this reason, PFAS is particularly prevalent near military bases and airports, where firefighters frequently train.  Moreover, because PFAS are so persistent, once a groundwater supply is contaminated, it stays contaminated, and the contamination can migrate to areas that you might otherwise assume were pristine.    

Why You Should Care About PFAS 

Simply put:  PFAS are toxic and they don’t break down in the environment, which is why they’re sometimes called “forever chemicals” in popular media.  In addition to not breaking down in the environment, some PFAS have long multi-year half-lives in the body, which means that once you ingest them, they can bioaccumulate. 

This matters because PFAS are linked to a wide range of health problems, including:  

• Cancer, including kidney and testicular cancer 
• Immune system suppression, or a decreased ability to respond to vaccines 
• Developmental issues, such as lower birth weights and developmental delays in children 
• Hormone disruption, including thyroid disruption and spikes in cholesterol levels 

Who Is at Risk? 

CDC data shows that nearly all Americans have measurable levels of PFAS in their blood. It’s important to note that this is even true for people who use public water supplies and don’t live in highly polluted industrial areas. Private well owners can be particularly susceptible because the EPA does not monitor private wells. So, if you are on well water, you are 100% responsible for testing and treating your water for PFAS.

Will Tighter Environmental Regulations Fix the PFAS Problem? 

Short Answer: Not quickly enough. 

In April 2024, the EPA finalized the first enforceable nationwide drinking water standards for six individual PFAS: PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA (GenX), and PFBS (when part of a mixture). What’s unique about this rule is that it also covers mixtures of these six chemicals. In other words, it’s possible that the combined levels of two or more of these chemicals could trigger compliance actions without any of the individual chemicals being above their enforceable limit.    

As with any new regulation, there are several practical limitations. 

First, full compliance isn’t immediate. Municipalities are given years to monitor, plan, and implement treatment infrastructure. Especially in the case of PFAS treatment, this is going to be a time-consuming and expensive process.  

Second, the regulation itself has already been challenged. Since the initial rule was published in 2024, the EPA has asked the courts to roll back some portions of the law and extend the timeline that municipalities have to achieve full compliance.  Under the new proposal, the number of regulated contaminants would be reduced from six to just two (PFOA and PFOS), the framework to assess mixtures would be eliminated, and the compliance deadline would be extended to 2031.  Because these cases are in process, it means the scope and enforceability of the law could continue to evolve as it works its way through the court system. 

Taking a step back, even if the rule stands exactly as initially written, it still has gaps. It only covers six of the almost 15,000 PFAS that the EPA recognizes, despite evidence that many of them raise similar concerns. 

While federal regulation is moving, meaningful changes to what comes out of your faucet are years away. 

How to Filter PFAS From Your Drinking Water 

Given all of this, people are choosing to take control of their home’s water and opting to get a water filter that performs against PFAS.  

It’s important to ensure that the filter is certified to filter PFAS. Many common or generic pitcher and refrigerator filter products do not carry these required certifications.  

If the product is a non-RO system (e.g. pitchers, under sink filters, refrigerator filters), look for a product that specifically lists NSF/ANSI Standard 53 for PFOA/PFOS or Total PFAS on the performance data sheet. 

If the product uses reverse osmosis as a technology, look specifically for NSF/ANSI Standard 58 or NSF/ANSI Standard 53 for PFOA/PFOS or Total PFAS on the performance data sheet. 

Want to learn more about filtering PFAS from your home's water? Hydroviv's Water Experts are available to answer more questions through live chat.