Twenty-nine of the more than 2,000 water treatment facilities in Colorado do not meet strict new federal limits on the amount of dangerous “forever chemicals” in their drinking water supplies and it will cost millions to clean those toxins out of the water.

The public water systems that do not meet new standards of 4 parts per trillion for the chemicals, which generally are referred to as PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, include the cities of Brighton, Thornton and Keenesburg, as well as water districts in Boulder, Douglas and Jefferson counties, according to a status report from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

The state report does not specify how much PFAS has been found in those 29 water systems, only that they exceed the “minimum reporting level.”

Denver’s water system does not have current detections of PFAS, but the city’s water has not been sampled since 2020, which is the case for dozens of Colorado water districts, according to state health department’s status report.

The Environmental Protection Agency for the first time Wednesday announced strict limits on the amount of forever chemicals that will be allowed in the nation’s drinking water systems. The agency estimates that, nationally, 6% to 10% of the 66,000 public drinking water systems may fall short of the new standards.

Testing and public reporting must begin in three years, and utilities must install treatment systems by 2029, according to the EPA’s announcement.

Officials with the state Department of Public Health and Environment said they will work with the various Colorado water districts to help them comply by the federal deadline.

The EPA also announced Wednesday that it would award nearly $1 billion to states so public water districts can test and treat the water they provide to customers. Colorado is slated to receive $41 million to test and clean drinking water, according to a chart provided by the EPA.

PFAS chemicals are used in products such as firefighting foam, makeup, cookware, carpets, clothes and ski wax to make things stain-resistant or non-stick. They are toxic to humans and can cause cancer, impair fertility and harm the liver. They leach into groundwater, creeks, lakes and canals that supply water for human consumption and agriculture.

Some states already had set standards for forever chemicals in drinking water, but Colorado was not one of them, said Ian Coghill, senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain office.

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