Revised On: Mar. 17th, 2025 - 04:57 pm
In Arizona, PFAS has already impacted and continues to threaten Tucson’s drinking water supply. The Central Wellfield serves as the primary drinking water supply for over 65,000 people and the sole alternate drinking water supply for 600,000 people. Tucson Water has removed a number of drinking water production wells from service due to PFAS found at levels higher than EPA’s MCLs in the regional groundwater aquifer.
ADEQ works closely with the U.S. EPA, City of Tucson and others to address PFAS at the Tucson International Airport Area (TIAA) Superfund site on Tucson’s southwest side. In 2022, ADEQ announced $25 million in funding to help Tucson Water improve PFAS treatment at the Tucson Airport Remediation Project (TARP). Construction of an ion exchange PFAS treatment system is currently underway | Learn More: TIAA > | TARP >
Near Davis Monthan Air Force Base (DMAFB) in central Tucson, PFAS contamination threatens additional drinking water production wells. To address this threat to Tucson’s drinking water supply, ADEQ dedicated funds from its limited Water Quality Assurance Fund (WQARF) to delineate and capture PFAS-contaminated groundwater from impacting additional drinking water production wells | Learn more: DMAFB > | WQARF >
In December 2021, ADEQ completed the construction of a demonstration treatment system at a City of Tucson supply well. This treatment system is removing PFAS from the groundwater and helping to limit the movement of PFAS toward the central wellfield. It demonstrates the effectiveness of ion exchange treatment technology and provides a platform to evaluate other technologies.
ADEQ is working closely with Tucson Water to design an expanded groundwater remedy using data gathered during the site investigation and implementation of the demonstration treatment system. The expanded remedy will be constructed to prevent PFAS in the area from impacting any additional wells.
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Residents and businesses who receive their drinking water from Tucson Water are continuing to receive drinking water that meets all EPA MCLs for PFAS.
