Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in the Fountain Creek Watershed, Colorado Springs, CO, USA: A Yearlong Investigation of PFAS Levels in Water, Soils, and Sediments

Abstract

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) contamination of water resources and impact on affected populations in the southern Colorado Springs metro area have been of research interest since initial reports were announced via local news outlets in 2016. In this study, surface water, soils, and sediments were collected monthly for a full year at eight locations within the Fountain Creek Watershed of Colorado Springs, CO, USA. Using a novel quantitative method, levels of nine PFASs were determined via liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). Mean levels of ∑9PFAS in water were 71.4 ng/L (median 57.9 ng/L) and ranged from 18.1 to 172.3 ng/L. Using these data, logK ow values, and % total organic carbon content, predicted levels of PFASs in soil and sediment samples were modeled. Actual concentrations via LC/MS/MS for PFASs in soils and sediments reflected previously reported metadata for solid samples affected by aqueous film-forming foam use and release. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) were detected in most (>87%) soils and all sediment samples. Predicted vs actual concentrations (ng/gdw) of PFOS agreed extremely well for soil and sediment samples in this study, while agreement of predicted vs actual concentrations for PFOA was less robust. This latter observation motivated a follow-up study to assess whether, and to what extent, PFOA levels in affected vegetation at the survey sites.

PFAS River Export Analysis Highlights the Urgent Need for Catchment-Scale Mass Loading Data

“…Wastewater treatment works contribute substantially more PFOA to the catchment (20.37 kg/year) than has been estimated at the catchment outlet at Westy (14.36 kg/year), indicating substantial potential storage of PFOA in the River Mersey Basin. Sorption of PFOA and PFOS to sediments has been widely reported, , and PFOA sequestration in river channel sediments possibly explains the attenuation of PFOA loads in the River Mersey Basin. However, such large storage volumes in urban river basins are concerning, and these sediments may represent an important secondary nonpoint source of PFOA to river water and biota .…”

Peril in the Pipeline: Unraveling the threads of PFAS contamination in U.S. drinking water systems

“…Aquifer in this region is contaminated by Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) use at the Air Force Base. Quezada Davalos et al [ 51 ] found that sites near AFFF use have significantly higher PFAS concentrations than distant sites.…”

“…The regional hot spots have PFAS manufacturing plants, industrial sites that utilize PFAS, and/or densely populated communities [47][48][49][50][51][52]. For instance, the hotspot in the northeastern US (NY, DE, NJ, PA, and CT) is in a densely populated region with high consumption of household goods containing PFAS, such as detergents, cosmetics, and food packaging [9].…”

Dataset of surveyed PFAS in water, sediment, and soil of Fountain Creek Watershed, Colorado, USA

“…Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which have been used widely in consumer and industrial products, have long-term environmental persistence. In our reported work, we measured PFAS in water, sediment, and soil surveyed at eight locations monthly for a full year within the Fountain Creek Watershed, Colorado Springs, CO, to assess how selected legacy PFAS varied over time and distance [1] . The PFAS concentration data to support that study are included in a Mendeley repository and described here [2] .…”