Regan Water Notes
PFAS in Drinking Water: Test First, Then Choose Treatment
Use your water source, a suitable test, and product-specific certification to make a calm, evidence-based PFAS treatment decision.
PFAS headlines can make a water decision feel urgent. Start with evidence from your water source, then match any treatment choice to the compounds you actually need to reduce.
Start with your water source
If you receive municipal water, read your utility’s current Consumer Confidence Report. The EPA explains what these annual reports cover and provides a search tool to help you find yours: find your Consumer Confidence Report.
If you use a private well, a utility report does not describe your water. The EPA recommends using a certified drinking-water laboratory and contacting your state program or local health department for guidance: find certified laboratory information.
Make sure the test answers the PFAS question
A broad water panel does not automatically include PFAS. Before ordering, check the product’s analyte list and confirm that the panel covers the PFAS compounds relevant to your question. If the result must satisfy a lender, regulator, legal matter, or health decision, confirm the required laboratory, method, reporting limit, and collection procedure first.
Evaluate treatment by the exact claim
The EPA identifies granular activated carbon, ion exchange, and reverse osmosis as technologies that can reduce PFAS. Actual performance depends on the system, the PFAS compounds present, the incoming water, flow, capacity, and maintenance. Read the EPA’s current home-filter guidance here: identifying filters certified to reduce PFAS.
Look for a product-specific PFAS reduction certification, then verify the exact model in the certification body’s listing. NSF notes that certification to a standard does not mean a system reduces every contaminant: NSF water-treatment standards.
Use this order of operations
Check your utility report or use a certified laboratory for your own water source.
Choose a test that explicitly includes the analytes you need.
Use the result to identify the treatment job.
Compare product-specific certification, capacity, maintenance, and operating limits.
Follow the manufacturer’s replacement and maintenance schedule.
When to ask for help
Contact your water utility, state environmental or health agency, or a qualified water professional when a result is unclear or requires an urgent response. Regan Water can clarify the products listed in our store, but we cannot decide what a regulator, lender, laboratory, or health professional will accept.
Sources
U.S. EPA: Safe Drinking Water Act Consumer Confidence Reports, updated June 24, 2026.
U.S. EPA: Contact information for certified drinking-water laboratories, updated August 11, 2026.
U.S. EPA: Identifying drinking-water filters certified to reduce PFAS.
NSF: Standards for water-treatment systems.
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