Huntsville Utilities Responds to New EPA Advisory Levels

NEWS RELEASE – HUNTSVILLE UTILITIES
HUNTSVILLE UTILITIES RESPONDS TO NEW EPA ADVISORY LEVELS
Friday – July 8, 2022 – 10:00am

On June 15, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an updated health advisory which lowered the lifetime exposure levels of perfluoro octane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluoro octanoic acid (PFOA) in drinking water. These new levels are significantly below the previous, non-detectable levels (click here for the EPA’s press release).

It is important to remember that this is only an advisory and is not a regulation or law. The advisory was issued on an interim basis until the release of permanent requirements regarding these chemicals and will help inform their decision making on future enforceable limits.

The EPA also acknowledged that current testing technology cannot detect the presence of PFOA or PFOS at the levels put forth in the advisory.

Recent testing of Huntsville Utilities’ drinking water shows results that are above the EPA’s new advisory levels but below those added for GenX chemicals (hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid and its ammonium salt) and perfluoro butane sulfonic acid and its potassium salt (PFBS).

Huntsville Utilities drinking water has been and continues to be safe to drink as well as for all other household uses. Both the 2016 and 2022 advisory limits are based on a lifetime of continuous daily consumption.

Huntsville Utilities’ Water Operations Department uses the region’s most advance water testing technology and assists other water utilities in the region with their water testing. “Huntsville Utilities will continue to test for these and any other contaminants as required by ADEM,” said Fredrick Mucke, Huntsville Utilities Water Operations Director. “We are studying the advisory levels and test results, as well as any impact this could have on our current and future operations,” he added.

Customers can access the most recent Huntsville Utilities Water Quality Report here, as well as previous WQRs under the Publications section of our website (www.hsvutil.org).

Huntsville Utilities is a not-for-profit, public utility owned by the City of Huntsville, Alabama, service the residents of Huntsville and Madison County. The utility currently has approximately 205,000 electric, 104,000 water, and 60,000 natural gas customers. Our mission is to strengthen trust in Huntsville Utilities, our vision is to deliver excellent customer experiences, and our values are to do what’s right build community, and get better every day.