New cost estimates for water systems to comply with the federal drinking water standards for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are claimed to be about double the federal government’s estimate, according to an advocacy organization dedicated to supporting water utilities. However, reductions in PFAS-related illness and deaths will offset the costs of adding PFAS-removal systems, the federal government says.

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) says at least 5,139 water systems will need to install 9,043 treatment facilities to comply with the final PFAS rules issued in April 2024 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The new rules set drinking water standards for five PFAS substances, including PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS, and HFPO-DA (also known as “GenX Chemicals”). Not long after the first PFAS rule, the EPA issued a second PFAS rule designating the PFAS substances perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) as hazardous substances.

The national cost of the PFAS drinking water rules are estimated by the EPA to be upwards of $15 billion, or $1.5 billion annually. However, the AWWA says the annualized cost of the final rule could be three times higher than the EPA’s estimate.

The AWWA says its estimate is from a consultancy that specializes in infrastructure development and that the AWWA engaged to conduct a cost analysis of the PFAS rules using updated EPA data. The updated cost analysis determined that during the next five years, more than 7,000 water system entry points will need capital improvement investments to install PFAS treatment systems for drinking water at a collective cost of from $37.1 billion to $48.3 billion, the AWWA says.

Furthermore, combined with the costs of operations and maintenance, the annualized cost is estimated to be $2.7 to $3.5 billion, roughly twice the EPA’s estimate as part of the final rulemaking, the AWWA says in a written statement.

“The results of this analysis confirm concerns about EPA’s occurrence and cost analysis,” the AWWA says in a statement. The advocacy organization also says it recently submitted a statement of issues to the EPA, further defining concerns with the rulemaking, including concerns that the rule does not reflect the best available or nationally representative occurrence data and the costs of compliance.

The EPA responded to The Driller’s request for comment with a written statement that says the economic benefits from reductions in PFAS-related illness and deaths will offset the costs of implementing the rules. The PFAS regulations will reduce the exposure of about 100 million Americans served by public drinking water systems to PFAS substances. Furthermore, EPA says it calculated the economic benefits based on measurable health benefits from reduced exposure to PFAS substances, including fewer cancers, lower incidents of heart attacks and strokes, and reduced birth complications, with the economic benefit likely more significant than $1.5 billion.

Compliance with this rule is estimated to cost approximately $1.5 billion annually, according to the EPA. Further, after considering all available information and analyses for costs and benefits—quantifiable and non-quantifiable—of this rule, the EPA “determined that the benefits justify the costs,” the agency said.