Elburn Village President Jeff Walter has questioned the validity of testing that found a high amount of a so-called “forever chemical” in one of the wells that provides drinking water to the community.

He noted that tests performed just last year detected no PFAS in any of the system’s three wells.

“We are not convinced that this is a good test. The levels are just way too high, considering it was zero the last two times,” he said, referring to Illinois Environmental Protection Agency testing from 2020 and June 2025.

The IEPA notified the village on Feb. 11 that additional testing performed in December detected a type of PFAS in the water system at 7.5 parts per trillion, above the IEPA’s groundwater quality standard of 4 ppt.

Walter said that he and other village staff members question the validity of these results. He said all three of the system’s wells are about the same depth, 1,340 feet, and all are fed by the same aquifer.

“The deep wells are well-protected by rock and sediment, and the other two wells have come back negative, so how does one well, at the same depth and the same aquifer, all of a sudden have plastic in it?” Walter asked.

Walter went on to say: “We believe that test was contaminated. It could have been Downy on the clothing of the guy that took the test, in fact, the actual vial that the guy used to take the water out of the well was plastic. There’s many places that sample could’ve gotten plastic into it.”

Trustee Matt Wilson, whose daytime job is as a public works division manager in the city of St. Charles’ water department, said that he was extremely disappointed with the IEPA and the Kane County Health Department’s process, putting out their news release before the village had any time to address its own notification.

Wilson said that given the previous results of Elburn’s wells, it would have made sense to say, “Hey, maybe this is a faulty sample; let’s retest.” He said that’s typically what would happen.

He added that he would have appreciated having some time to get some education out to the residents about PFAS chemicals.

“It’s in your clothes, it’s in your fast food boxes, wrappers,” Wilson said. “You’re wearing it; you’re consuming it.”

PFAS are often referred to as “forever chemicals” because they remain in the environment for decades. They are synthetic chemicals whose use is widespread in industrial processes and found in everyday consumer products such as food packaging, nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing, stain-resistant furniture and firefighting foam.

According to the National Institutes of Health, studies of lab animals given large amounts of PFAS have found that some PFAS may affect growth and development, reproduction and fertility, thyroid function, the immune system and the liver.

The Illinois EPA said longterm exposure may increase the risk of certain cancers, including kidney, prostate and testicular. Exposure may also increase blood pressure during pregnancy and increased cholesterol levels.

Walter used an example of someone getting a particularly high PSA test result. The doctor’s first recommendation would be to run another test, before reacting.

“Rather than panicking everyone, it would have been better to just use some logic and common sense,” Walter said.

The village is making plans with another EPA-certified lab to conduct the retesting.

“Unfortunately, performing another test will take another six to eight weeks before we get another result,” Walter said.

A public heath notice on the Elburn village website says “the village has been in contact with the IEPA to clarify procedural requirements and the process for moving forward. The village is working with its engineers to evaluate impacts and response options.”

The Illinois EPA is currently reviewing data until 2027. IEPA compliance will not be enforced until approximately 2029.

In the meantime, Walter said that for Elburn residents and other water customers who have concerns, the IEPA has suggestions for in-home filtering of the water used for drinking and cooking. The various types of water filters they recommend include carbon, reverse osmosis, or ion exchange resins.

For more information, residents may access the Illinois EPA website, the Kane County Health Department website and the Elburn village website. For additional information, people can contact Jeff Guy of IEPA Office of Community Relations at Jeff.Guy@Illinois.gov.

Walter is in the midst of a run in the March 17 primary election for the Republican nomination for Congress in the 11th District, a seat held by Democratic Rep. Bill Foster, who is seeking reelection.