Are there forever chemicals in your water? Here's the latest data.

By Austin Fast | USA Today | December 5, 2025

Read the full article by Austin Fast (USA Today)

"Drinking water for at least one of every seven Americans – about 49.5 million people – contains unsafe levels of “forever chemicals,” according to new test results the Environmental Protection Agency published in November.

Since the EPA last updated these records in August, over 100 additional public drinking water systems have reported yearly averages of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, that exceed new limits the EPA approved in 2024.

USA TODAY’s analysis of the records shows water utilities in Anaheim and San Jose, California, and Brownsville, Texas, have now joined the 944 systems scattered across the country that have recently failed to meet the new EPA standards."