PFAS In Water: A List of Western Washington Communities

Last spring's EPA release of final Maximum Contamination Levels (MCLs) for forever chemical contamination in drinking water provides a new perspective that no amount of PFOA or PFOA forever chemical exposure is safe. 

Forever chemicals (aka PFAS/PFOA/PFOS) are linked to decreased fertility and developmental toxicity for children & fetuses; thyroid and heart disease; cancers and immune system disorders.

On the record as a very concerned mom and citizen, if your community water is contaminated, you should filter drinking water in your home, especially if you are pregnant or have young children. Thanks to diligent water filtration companies making robust filters at many price points and styles, you have the opportunity to protect yourselves, children and pets. 

But not all filters are created equally and you need to make sure you are using the correct one, so either attend one of my PFAS Water Talks or read my deep dive article on assessing your water contaminants and filtration. There is a slurry of other chemicals impacting our drinking water besides forever chemicals.

If you would like to talk through this further, either reach out to me via text or phone at 206-953-4428, attend one of my zoom water talks, or sign up for a Ditch & Switch Clean Water Consult and I'll help you make sense of the murky water landscape and what you can do now to safeguard your health.

Water Systems

Mountain View

Sunset Farm

Enterprise Estates

Lisecc

Lyon Road Community

Ault Field

San Juan Estates

Hillcrest Village

Whispering Pines

Crossroads

Harrington Lagoon

Northgate Terrace

Cal Waterworks

Deer Lakes Estates

Mecca Community

Point Allen

Kackman Creek

Arlington Water Dept.

Arlington East Mutual

Arlington View Estates

Roseland Community

Priest Beach

Cross Valley

City of Goldbar

Lake Tuck

Sammamish Plateau

North Bend

City of Redmond

Madrona Beach

Bullitt Center

Loveland Mobile Estates

Highline

City of Renton

Issaquah Water

Issaquah Valley

Mirrormont

Cristalina

Cedar River

Forest Grove

Sawyerwood

Covington

Welchs

City of Auburn

Kent Water Dept.

Mountain View Water

Forest Grove Hills

Evergreen Sky Ranch

Lakehaven Utility

Montessori Spring Valley

City of Milton

Mountain View Edgewood

Towns Mobile Home Park

City of Puyallup

Valley Meadow

Ryanwood Improvement

Ranier View Park Addition

Enchanted Firs Mobile Estates

Orting 15

Graham Hill Mutual

Shadow Pines Mobile Estates

Whiskey Hollow-670

Fruitland Mutual

Meridian Terrace Mobile Home Park

Summit

Twin Firs

Spanaway

Nelson Ridge

Bethel Ranchettes

Kuzmianich

Crescent Park

Ranier Villa

Lakewood

Western State Hospitak

Westbridge Estates

Dupont

Share this article with those who live in the above listed communities and check out the water filter I've been using for my family since 2023.

**Source: I tallied up the Western WA communities with detected PFAS contamination in drinking water from the Environmental Working Group PFAS Map, sourced from the most recent Unregulated Contaminated Monitoring Rule EPA report. 

I included communities West of the mountain passes, East of Puget Sound and as far South as DuPont (just because that seemed like an appropriate place to end the list). 

Please know that drinking water contamination is not the fault of the water treatment facilities or our cities, it is caused by unregulated harmful chemicals that have moved into the global manufacturing of tens of thousands of waterproof, stainproof, and adhesive products for nearly the past 75 years. 

Because someone has to be responsible for cleaning up the contamination, water utility companies and departments of health are working on filtering and decontamination. But it will take time and billions of dollars (part of which needs to come from the federal government). While you wait, do yourself a favor and filter. 

I compiled this list because I care about my neighbors and want to do my part to shine a light on this important health issue. After researching the topic among media outlets and public utility websites and community blogs, I could find very little reporting of the newly reported PFAS contaminated communities. 

Every week I'm talking with more people who have no idea they are drinking PFAS-contaminated water.

The worst part of most communications on this subject, is that very few people and organizations are recommending what people can do to safeguard their health now while we await local filtration and cleanup of contaminated ground water. Some water suppliers have a link to an EPA website, but it's generic and not helpful. 

Follow me on social media (links in top right) or come back to my blog regularly to learn ways you can make more informed decisions about products and lifestyle habits that lead to better health outcomes for you and the beings you care about. 

Environmental Working Group has many deep dive articles on their website and I recommend anyone who wants to feel empowered to check out what they are doing to safeguard our health. 

*Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Find the recommended affordable PFAS water filter that I've used for my family since 2023 here. If you have well water, use this link. 

Ditch & Switch to Healthier Picks: Researched & Tried by Me, Chosen for My Family

I chose Epic Water to keep my family healthy back in August 2023 after assessing my city's drinking water contaminants and filtration needs, even though Seattle is not contaminated with PFAS. 

If you would like help assessing the health of your local tap water, check out my deep dive water quality blog article or schedule a Ditch & Switch consultation with me and I'll do the deep dive for you!

Here is a good Seattle Times article from last April, when the EPA lowered the maximum contaminant levels of forever chemicals in water. 

Think bottled water is a healthier alternative to contaminated drinking water? Read this before you buy another case at Costco. Here is another article that addresses microplastic contamination in plastic water bottles. 

Here is a deep dive article that I wrote about the murky situation about the health of our drinking water. 

Want to see how your water measures up for other potential contaminants? Put your zip code into this tap water database, managed by EWG. Make sure you look at both tabs: "exceed guidelines" and "other contaminants." Seattle Public Utilities has 11 cancer-causing chlorination by-product chemicals that I like to filter our for my family and fur babies.