Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of human-made chemicals used in industrial and consumer products since the mid-1900s. These include:
- Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
- Perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS)
- Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS)
- Perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS)
PFAS are found in everyday items such as carpets, clothing, personal care products, and non-stick cookware. Due to their widespread use, PFAS are now commonly found in the environment.
Our Water Sources and Risk Profile
We source most of the region’s drinking water from protected, forested catchments.
These catchments provide a natural barrier against human derived contamination, resulting in a generally low risk profile for PFAS in our drinking water supplies.
Our testing program
We have been monitoring for PFAS in our drinking water catchments since 2017, to better understand likelihood and presence of PFAS within our water supply catchments.
We also test for PFAS in our raw and treated drinking water to ensure the water we supply to our customers is safe.
We have never detected PFAS concentrations within our treated drinking water above the Australian Drinking Water Guideline values.
Should we detect increasing or elevated PFAS concentrations in our raw and/or treated drinking water, additional sampling would be conducted to validate the results and identify the source as part of our adaptive management approach.
After water is treated at our plants, it travels in a closed system to customers’ water meters to protect the quality of the water.
Australian Drinking Water Guidelines
The Guidelines provide a framework for the good management of drinking water supplies in Australia.
They were revised in mid-2025, providing updated guidance on PFAS, including new and revised health-based guideline values. These health-based guidance values are set at a level that prevents any increased risk to a person’s health over their lifetime.
https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/australian-drinking-water-guidelines
Monitoring Data
Maximum PFAS results in treated drinking water can be found in our Annual Drinking Water Quality Report.
