A retest of water from a well serving Elburn showed no detectable levels of PFAS compounds, the village announced.
Following the detection in December of an elevated level of PFAS – 7.5 parts per trillion vs. the standard limit of 4 ppt – in a sample collected by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the village repeated the test using the same IEPA-certified laboratory to check the validity of the initial results.
Village President Jeff Walter said two samples were collected and analyzed, one from the “finished tap,” the same sampling location used during the EPA’s original test. The second sample was from the “raw tap,” which measures water before it goes through the water treatment process.
Both samples showed no detectable levels of PFAS compounds, or so-called “forever chemicals.”
According to a news release from the village, the second sample was not required by the EPA, but the village included it “to provide additional information about the village’s water supply.”
Walter said he was glad to be able to put the minds of Elburn residents at ease again.
“People will be able to breathe again,” he said.
Walter reiterated his disappointment in the way the IEPA’s communication was handled with the results from the December test.
“The general public sees [the IEPA’s notification] as, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s contaminated water in Elburn,’ which is not the case,” he said.
“Reasonably, to think that these chemicals migrated 1,350 feet down through two layers of shale bedrock, somebody somewhere should have been scratching their head and saying, ‘Yeah, this doesn’t make sense. Maybe we should recheck it.’”
Walter said that the village will continue to test the village’s water supply each quarter, according to the IEPA requirements, and will continue to be transparent with whatever information they receive.
More information is available on the village’s website, elburn.gov.
Walter is in the home stretch of a March 17 Republican primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives seat representing the 11th District. The winner of the primary will face Democratic Rep. Bill Foster, who is seeking reelection.