Six steps to a real answer
1. Identify who supplies your water
Your water bill names the public water system. If you have no water bill, you are almost certainly on a private well, which nobody tests on your behalf. Roughly one in five Pennsylvania households relies on a private well — the highest share of any state after Michigan.
2. Look up published results for a public system
Public systems publish an annual Consumer Confidence Report and, since the federal PFAS rule, PFAS sampling results. Pennsylvania DEP's statewide PFAS sampling program and the EPA's UCMR monitoring database both hold results for hundreds of PA sources. Search for your system by name and save any PDF you find.
3. Order an accredited test for a private well
Use a laboratory accredited for PFAS analysis under an approved EPA method. Expect roughly $200-$600. Follow the sampling instructions exactly — PFAS is present in many everyday materials, so a contaminated sample bottle or the wrong gloves can invalidate the result.
4. Read the result against the limits
The federal standard is 4 parts per trillion for PFOA and for PFOS, with separate limits for PFHxS, PFNA, and HFPO-DA (GenX) and a hazard index for mixtures. Pennsylvania sets its own state limits for PFOA and PFOS. Note the compound names and the detected concentration, not just pass or fail.
5. Treat the water if PFAS is present
Reverse osmosis and properly sized granular activated carbon are the two proven approaches for household drinking water. Look for NSF/ANSI 53 or 58 certification for PFOA and PFOS reduction. Softeners, standard pitcher and fridge filters, and boiling do not work — boiling makes the concentration worse.
6. Keep everything
Save the full laboratory report, any notice from your water authority, and records showing where you lived or worked and when. Those documents are what turns a general concern into a documented exposure history.
What removes PFAS, and what does not
| Method | Effect on PFAS |
|---|---|
| Reverse osmosis (under-sink or whole-house) | Effective — the most reliable household option |
| Granular activated carbon, properly sized and replaced | Effective when maintained on schedule |
| Ion exchange resin designed for PFAS | Effective, typically used at the system level |
| Standard pitcher or refrigerator filters | Not effective unless specifically certified for PFOA/PFOS |
| Water softeners | Not effective — they target hardness, not PFAS |
| Boiling | Makes it worse — water evaporates, PFAS concentration rises |
Where PFAS keeps turning up in Pennsylvania
Southeastern PA — Bucks and Montgomery
Decades of AFFF use at the former Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster, the former NAS Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove, and Horsham Air Guard Station drove some of the highest PFAS levels recorded in the state. Multiple authorities shut down wells or installed treatment.
County detail →Berks and the Reading area
Industrial legacy sites and well sampling have produced PFAS detections across Berks County water sources. Residents on private wells in the townships surrounding Reading are the most common testing questions we see from this area.
County detail →Western PA — Allegheny, Washington, Greene
Airport AFFF use, industrial discharge, and questions about oil-and-gas wastewater handling all feed PFAS and PFOA water-treatment concerns across southwestern Pennsylvania. Private wells are common outside the municipal service areas.
County detail →Central PA — Dauphin and Franklin
Harrisburg International Airport, on the former Olmsted Air Force Base, and Letterkenny Army Depot are both documented AFFF sources that affected nearby groundwater.
County detail →Your area is not listed? Browse all 67 Pennsylvania counties and major cities, or read the background on PFAS contaminated drinking water in Pennsylvania.
Note. This page is general information about water testing, not legal or medical advice, and testing procedures and published limits change over time. Confirm current requirements with your water authority, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, or an accredited laboratory.
Pennsylvania’s own PFAS limits
In January 2023 Pennsylvania adopted state maximum contaminant levels for public water systems of 14 parts per trillion for PFOA and 18 parts per trillion for PFOS. The federal limits finalized by the EPA in 2024 are lower, and the EPA has since announced plans to revisit parts of that rule and extend compliance deadlines. Because the federal picture is still changing, compare any result you receive against both the state and current federal numbers, and keep the actual concentration rather than a pass/fail summary. None of these limits apply to private wells, but they are a useful benchmark for well owners.
Testing a private well near gas drilling
Homeowners in Marcellus Shale counties often have earlier well tests from before or after nearby drilling. Those panels usually covered metals, salts, methane, and bacteria — not PFAS. If you want a PFAS answer, ask the lab for a PFAS analysis specifically, and keep your older results too, since they help build a timeline. County-specific guidance is on the fracking and well water hub, including Bradford, Susquehanna, Washington, Greene, and Lycoming counties.
Questions to ask the laboratory
- • Is the lab accredited for drinking-water PFAS analysis in Pennsylvania?
- • Which EPA method will it use (for example EPA Method 533 or 537.1), and how many PFAS compounds does it report?
- • What is the reporting limit for PFOA and PFOS? It should be low enough to compare against the 4 parts-per-trillion federal level.
- • Does the kit include PFAS-free bottles, a field blank, and written sampling instructions?
- • Will the report list each compound with its measured concentration and units?
Reading a PFAS lab report
Results are usually reported in nanograms per liter (ng/L), which is the same as parts per trillion (ppt). “ND” means not detected above the reporting limit, not necessarily zero. A “J” flag usually means the compound was detected but at a level too low to quantify precisely. Look at PFOA and PFOS first, then PFHxS, PFNA, and HFPO-DA (GenX). If you are unsure what a result means, the lab that ran the test can explain its own report.
Where to get help in Pennsylvania
- • Your water provider — public systems must publish an annual Consumer Confidence Report.
- • Pennsylvania DEP — publishes statewide PFAS sampling information and lists accredited laboratories.
- • Penn State Extension — runs a long-standing private water well education program for Pennsylvania homeowners.
- • EPA — publishes the federal PFAS drinking-water rule and UCMR 5 monitoring data.
If a test shows PFAS and someone in your household has a diagnosis on our PFAS-linked health conditions list, keep the report and see where the AFFF MDL 2873 litigation stands. You can also find your area on the Pennsylvania county and city list.