DRINKING WATER
The Army is committed to ensuring quality drinking water is provided to its Soldiers, family members, and civilians. Proactive sampling is performed by the Army on its drinking water systems and coordination with other purveyors of drinking water to installations occurs to ensure PFOS/PFOA remains below 70 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOS and PFOA (individually or combined). While not an enforceable regulatory standard, this represents a concentration in drinking water that is not expected to produce adverse health effects if the water is consumed over an entire lifetime.
Status: Finished drinking water, which is the treated water people drink at Fort Leavenworth, does not contain PFOS/PFOA above the EPA health advisory levels. Additionally, Army-provided drinking water complies with the standards of the Safe Drinking Water Act, a federal law designed to protect the quality of drinking water supplied to the American public. The Army will continue to sample and monitor on-installation drinking water to ensure the 2016 EPA lifetime health advisory levels or a properly promulgated state safe drinking water standard are not exceeded.
PFOA + PFOS Results: below the laboratory's ability to detect
Test results date: March 2024
Testing Frequency: Every 2 years
Future Testing Event: March 2026
History: As a proactive measure in 2016, drinking water supply wells were tested for PFAS. Test results showed two wells (649 ppt and 159 ppt) exceeded the EPA lifetime health advisory. The treated drinking water was 98 ppt. These wells were shut down. Water was purchased from Leavenworth Waterworks from January 2018 to April 2022. A water treatment system including granular activated carbon (GAC) filter was constructed to remove PFOS and PFOA from the drinking water. Since May 2022 Fort Leavenworth has produced its own drinking water with no detectable PFOS/PFOA.
Type of drinking water systems: privatized
Office phone number: (913) 684-1725
Office e-mail address: thomas.s.gibson4.civ@army.mil
CLEANUP ACTIONS
The Army follows the federal cleanup law, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980 (also known as “Superfund”), and long-standing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations for all chemicals in its cleanup program, including PFAS. In collaboration with federal and state regulatory agencies and interested stakeholders, the Army follows the CERCLA process to investigate a release resulting from Army activities and to assess the appropriate cleanup actions based on risk to human health and the environment.
When the Army identifies that it has impacted drinking water above 70 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOS/PFOA (individually or combined) on or off an installation, it takes appropriate actions to provide alternate water and ensure drinking water levels are promptly reduced (for example, by providing bottled water, shutting down wells, installing treatment systems or connecting to municipal water).
Final reports, points of contact, and/or site specific web links will be updated on this page as cleanup actions progress.
CERCLA is a complex, multi-phase process that provides a consistent, science-based approach across the nation for cleanup and may take years to complete. Read more about CERCLA and the phased approach here
CERCLA INFORMATION
Current CERCLA Phase: Remedial Investigation Underway
Estimated Phase Completion: December 2024
DOCUMENTS
- Preliminary Assessment and Site Inspection for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, Fort Leavenworth, KS (October 2019)
Appendices available upon request.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For more information, contact: Public Affairs
Office phone number: (913) 684-1725
Office e-mail address: thomas.s.gibson4.civ@army.mil
Last reviewed/updated: 9/24/24