PFAS ("forever chemicals") are widely used industrial and consumer-product compounds that don't break down naturally and can enter groundwater and surface water from many sources. Since March 2021, the Hannigan plant's source water has periodically tested above Massachusetts' 20 ppt PFAS6 standard. The utility has since installed permanent GAC and resin treatment at Hannigan (online since March 2026), with a similar project underway at Myers Avenue.
Every water utility publishes an annual Consumer Confidence Report listing every contaminant it tested for, the detected range, and the legal limit. Watch for the difference between a primary standard (MCL, health-based and enforceable) and a secondary standard (SMCL, aesthetic and non-enforceable), and check the sample date and location — results can vary across a system with three treatment plants like Abington-Rockland's.
If your home is on a private well rather than the Abington-Rockland Joint Water Works system, none of the municipal testing above applies to you directly. Massachusetts DEP recommends private well owners test independently, since well water isn't subject to Safe Drinking Water Act monitoring requirements.
Meeting legal limits today doesn't erase years of exceedances, and treatment upgrades take time to reach every tap in a multi-plant system. Households that want an extra layer of protection while the Myers Avenue project finishes — or simply want to address disinfection byproducts and lead at the household level — have a few reasonable options, matched to what's actually shown up in this system's own testing data:
The same core technology ARJWW itself uses at the treatment-plant scale. Effective against chlorine taste and odor, many disinfection byproducts (TTHM/HAA5), and some PFAS compounds, depending on the specific carbon media and contact time. Common in pitcher filters, faucet-mount units, and whole-house systems.
The most thorough household option for PFAS and a broad range of dissolved contaminants. Typically installed under a kitchen sink for drinking and cooking water specifically — a reasonable choice for a household that wants certainty ahead of a system-wide project's completion date.
Look for filters independently certified for PFOA/PFOS reduction specifically (NSF/ANSI Standard 53 or 58), rather than taking a manufacturer's general "removes contaminants" claim at face value.
Not sure where to start? A free household water test is the easiest way to figure out whether filtration makes sense for your specific home, and if so, which approach fits.