No PFAS detected in River Murray following proactive sampling

Results from our investigative water quality sampling in the River Murray show no detection of the human-made class of chemicals known as PFAS.

PFAS – or per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances – have been widely used in a range of industrial and consumer products since the 1950s, such as non-stick cookware, stain protection for fabrics, furniture and carpet, in food packaging, water-repellent clothing, cosmetics, sunscreen and predominantly in some types of fire-fighting foams.

This month’s testing in the river follows investigative sampling undertaken late last year in six of our major metropolitan reservoirs, which also returned no levels of PFAS.

Senior Manager Water Expertise Dr Lionel Ho said this analysis helps to inform a base level understanding of PFAS levels in South Australia’s key water sources and delivers on our priority to ensure the safety of drinking water supplied to our customers across South Australia.

“These results confirm catchment assessments with our regulator SA Health which identified there is a low risk of PFAS contamination in our state’s water supplies, and for the River Murray, this is further buoyed by recent testing by our interstate counterparts upstream which also showed no detection of PFAS,” Lionel said.

“As an additional assurance, all our water treatment plants along the river – which supply large parts of regional South Australia and some metropolitan areas – use proven technologies that can effectively remove or significantly reduce PFAS.

“These are granular and powdered activated carbon, which adsorb contaminants as part of the treatment process.

“For this month’s sampling in the river, we targeted three locations to best represent – from a geographic perspective – the upper, middle and lower parts of the Murray.

“Following strict protocols to prevent sample contamination, our specialist team from the Australian Water Quality Centre took samples from the inlet where water enters our treatment plants at Moorook, Mypolonga and Swan Reach.

“The samples were then transported to an independent laboratory for NATA (National Association of Testing Authorities)-accredited testing and analysis.

“This is the first stage of our investigative PFAS testing for the River Murray, with future sampling at additional locations in the river, along with other regional water sources around the state, to be assessed with our regulator SA Health.”

The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (2011) specify limits for three types of PFAS – PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) and PFHxS (perfluorohexane sulfonate), and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid).

For PFOS and PFHxS, the current limit is a combined total of less than 0.07 micrograms per litre.For PFOA, the current limit is less than 0.56 micrograms per litre.

The National Health and Medical Research Council is currently reviewing health-based guidelines for PFAS in water, which are expected to be introduced in coming months.

SA Health Principal Water Quality Adviser Dr David Cunliffe said SA Water’s proactive sampling puts us in good stead ahead of the guidelines being officially revised.

“The driver behind this work is to maintain the community’s confidence in their water, and SA Water’s customers can be assured from this latest round of testing that it remains safe to drink,” David said.

“In South Australia, we are also fortunate there are no large industries near our main drinking water sources, nor are there large populations or places where fire-fighting foams containing PFAS have been used (such as airports), which are all common PFAS risk factors.

“This is particularly pertinent, as we know the best solution to any water quality challenge involving PFAS is to remove the source, i.e. the products that contain PFAS.”

Following initial sampling in our major metropolitan reservoirs last year, we are also moving to undertake annual routine PFAS testing of these water sources, with this approach assessed in collaboration with SA Health.

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