The Navy is requesting permission to sample drinking water obtained from wells near the Area 6 Landfill at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island to test for certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS.
The Navy is requesting permission from property owners to sample drinking water wells located within the sampling areas. Property owners with a drinking water well in the sampling areas may request sampling by calling 1-844-WHI-PFAS (1-844-944-7327) and leaving a message, or by sending an email to naswi.pfas@jacobs.com.
If your drinking water is provided by a public water system, the Navy does not need to sample your drinking water.
The Navy updates property owners and tenants on their results as they become available. Final drinking water sample results are available online at:
https://www.acq.osd.mil/eie/eer/ecc/pfas/map/pfasmap.html.
Individual drinking water sample results cannot be linked with the sampled property on this website.
Introduction
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of thousands of different chemicals which have been widely used in industrial and consumer products since the 1950s. PFAS are man-made and have been used in many household and industrial products because of their stain- and water-repellent properties. PFAS are now present virtually everywhere in the world because of the large amounts that have been manufactured and used. Once these compounds are released, many of them tend to stay in the environment for a very long time. The Navy and Department of Defense (DoD) have developed policies to address past releases of PFAS at installations nationwide.
The most common activity associated with a historical release of PFAS to the environment at Navy installations is the use of firefighting foam (specifically, aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF) for testing, training, firefighting, and other life-saving emergency responses, or associated disposal practices. Because of this historical use, PFAS are present in the groundwater at NAS Whidbey Island and have been detected in nearby drinking water wells that are located in the direction that the groundwater flows away from NAS Whidbey Island.
The Navy initiated sampling in 2016 near NAS Whidbey Island to ensure the communities near our installations were not exposed to drinking water with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and/or perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) above 70 parts per trillion (ppt), the DoD’s action level at the time, because of a known or potential Navy release of PFAS-containing materials.
September 2024 Policy for PFAS in Off-Base Drinking Water Wells
On April 26, 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) establishing nationwide drinking water standards for certain PFAS under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The regulation applies to public drinking water systems. Operators of public drinking water systems regulated by the NPDWR have five years to meet these standards. In September 2024, DoD published “Prioritization of Department of Defense Cleanup Actions to Implement the Federal Drinking Water Standards for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances under the Defense Environmental Restoration Program,” which describes DoD’s plans to incorporate the EPA’s drinking water regulation into DoD’s ongoing PFAS cleanups and prioritize actions to address private drinking water wells with the highest levels of PFAS from DoD activities. The DoD’s September 2024 policy memorandum can be found here. Table 1 shows the DoD Action Levels for PFAS in Private Drinking Water Wells.
For long-term remedial actions, DoD will work with EPA and state regulators on a site-specific basis to determine final cleanup levels, in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and related EPA policies.
2025 Off-Base Drinking Water Well Sampling
Due to the September 2024 policy, the Navy re-evaluated on-base groundwater results and off-base drinking water well results to determine whether certain PFAS are at or above the DoD action levels for PFAS in Private Drinking Water Wells (Table 1). Based on this information, the Navy has determined that additional sampling is needed in the off-base drinking water sampling areas near the Area 6 Landfill (Figure 1).
The Navy also identified drinking water wells that were sampled in 2018 that should be resampled because the laboratory method at that time could not detect PFAS at the current lower levels. Because of the laboratory method limitations, PFAS previously reported as not detected may now be detectable at low levels in these drinking water wells.
The Navy requests property owner permission to sample drinking water wells in the sampling areas that have not been previously sampled by the Navy. The Navy also requests property owner permission to resample certain drinking water wells that were sampled in 2018. Records indicate that some properties within the sampling area (Figure 1) receive drinking water from public water systems. If your drinking water is provided by a public water system, the Navy does not need to sample your drinking water. Property owners should contact their public water systems with any questions regarding treatment and testing of publicly provided drinking water. The Navy also does not need to sample your drinking water at this time if your drinking water well is part of the Navy’s twice-per-year PFAS drinking water sampling program.
The Navy is conducting the sampling in collaboration with partners such as EPA Region 10, the Washington State Department of Ecology, the Washington State Department of Health, and the Island County Public Health Department.
Figure 1: Area 6 Landfill Sampling Area
Actions Based on Off-Base Drinking Water Sampling Results
Typically, preliminary drinking water sample results are received from the laboratory within 30 days after sample collection. Property owners (and tenants, if present) will first be called and notified of their preliminary drinking water sample results.
PFOA and PFOS, individually or combined, above 70 ppt – The Navy will provide bottled water for drinking and cooking to property owners or tenants and will continue to provide bottled water until an enduring solution is implemented.
PFAS above the DoD Action Levels for PFAS in Private Drinking Water Wells (Table 1) – The Navy will work with property owners to provide an enduring solution, such as a treatment system or connection to public water supply, as soon as possible.
Final drinking water sample results will be mailed to property owners (and tenants, if present) typically within 3 months after sample collection. Final drinking water sample results are available online at: https://www.acq.osd.mil/eie/eer/ecc/pfas/map/pfasmap.html. Individual drinking water sample results cannot be linked with the sampled property on this website. This website also contains information on planned DoD PFAS testing in off-base drinking water within a covered area.
The Navy will continue to investigate PFAS at the Area 6 Landfill and evaluate if actions are needed. The Navy is committed to ensuring the safety of its neighbors. To find out more about all on-base environmental investigations, visit https://go.usa.gov/xh2Rd.
Previous Off-Base Drinking Water Well Sampling near the Area 6 Landfill at NAS Whidbey Island
PFAS have been detected in groundwater at the Area 6 Landfill above DoD action levels for PFAS in private drinking water wells. When a known or suspected release of PFAS is identified on a Navy installation and groundwater is used as drinking water, a sampling area is established 1 mile in the direction that groundwater flows away from a release area. The Navy offers sampling to all property owners whose property is within the sampling area and whose drinking water is supplied by groundwater.
In 2018, the Navy began sampling drinking water wells near the Area 6 Landfill in an area 1 mile in the direction that groundwater was estimated to flow away from potential PFAS release areas at the Area 6 Landfill (Figure 1). There were detections of PFOA and/or PFOS above 70 parts per trillion (ppt), the Navy’s action level at the time, in five drinking water wells. The Navy expanded the sampling area in 2019, and PFOA and/or PFOS were detected above 70 ppt in one additional drinking water well. Property owners and tenants served by the six drinking water wells were provided bottled water for drinking and cooking while an enduring solution was evaluated, and in 2022, the impacted properties were connect to the City of Oak Harbor Water System.
Since 2019, the Navy has monitored drinking water wells in the sampling areas. Twice per year, the Navy samples drinking water wells with prior PFAS detections and drinking water wells next to properties with PFOA and/or PFOS above 70 ppt in drinking water wells. In December 2023, as part of the twice per year sampling program, a seventh drinking water well was identified with PFOA and/or PFOS above 70 ppt. The Navy will continue to provide bottled water for drinking and cooking to this homeowner until an enduring solution is implemented.
In 2023, the Navy obtained additional information about groundwater flow direction in the northwest part of the Area 6 Landfill and received new results of PFOA and PFOS above 70 ppt at the Area 6 Landfill. Based on this information, in 2024, the Navy established a new sampling area northwest of the Area 6 Landfill 1 mile in the direction that groundwater flows away from the detections of PFOA and/or PFOS above 70 ppt (Figure 1). During this sampling effort, the Navy also offered sampling to properties in the previously established sampling area. PFOA and/or PFOS were detected above 70 ppt in two drinking water wells in the previously established sampling area. To date, PFOA and/or PFOS have been detected above 70 ppt at nine drinking water wells near the Area 6 Landfill. The Navy will continue to provide bottled water for drinking and cooking to residents until an enduring solution can be implemented.
Additionally, based on the September 2024 DoD Policy, four additional previously sampled drinking water wells have certain PFAS above the DoD action levels for PFAS in private drinking water wells (Table 1), which brings the total wells above the DoD’s current action levels to 13. However, three of the wells do not require enduring solutions due to site-specific circumstances. The Navy has conducted or will implement an enduring solution for the ten wells as soon as possible. Table 2 provides a summary of the results of the previous sampling.
Identification of PFAS Releases at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Ault Field (Including the Area 6 Landfill)
The Navy also conducts base-wide evaluations to identify potential PFAS releases at our installations in accordance with CERCLA.
In 2018, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Ault Field (including Area 6 Landfill) completed a Preliminary Assessment (PA) that identified 35 areas where releases of PFAS may have occurred and Site Inspection (SI) was warranted. The PA was finalized in November 2018 and SI report was finalized in September 2020. The PA and SI reports are available at https://go.usa.gov/xh2Rd. The Area 6 Landfill has proceeded to the next step in the CERCLA process, the Remedial Investigation. The Navy will continue on-base PFAS investigations and evaluate if additional actions are needed.
Final documents are under Area 6 Landfill On-Base PFAS Investigation Documents below. More information will be added to this website as it is available.