Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl contamination in Lake Arrowhead and its community water supply has persisted in the year since the public disclosure of the issue, according to well sampling data recently released by the Lake Arrowhead Community Services District.

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances – commonly referred to as PFAS, turned up in the Lake Arrowhead water supply at least as early as 2020, according former Lake Arrowhead Community Services District Board Member Ted Heyck. Also known as perfluorochemicals or PCFs, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances are compounds with water-repellent and oil-repellent properties. They are used in the production of both industrial and everyday household products such as stain-resistant carpets and furniture, waterproof clothing, shoes and outdoor gear, cosmetics and personal care products, food packaging, firefighting foam, cleaning products, industrial surfactants and non-stick cookware. They are commonly used in the aerospace, construction and electronics and in military and firefighting contexts.
Referred to as “forever chemicals,” PFAS chemicals don’t break down easily over time and are water soluble. Scientists, environmentalists and health professionals have concerns these chemicals could build to levels that could result in environmental and human health harm.
If absorbed by humans or animals in substantial or threshold quantities, they can alter the metabolisms of humans and animals, impact fertility, reduce fetal growth, decrease birth weight, cause changes in liver enzymes and increase the risk of obesity, increase the risk of certain cancers, impact immune response, increase cholesterol levels, decrease vaccine response in children and increase the risk of high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia in pregnant women.
Public disclosure of Lake Arrowhead’s perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances problem came with a press release from the Lake Arrowhead Community Services District dated November 17, 2023, which stated, “recent sample results have detected trace amounts of a class of chemicals referred to as PFAS. The amount of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances detected in the Lake Arrowhead Community Services District’s drinking water is very small but safe levels of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances have not yet been established.”
Within the last month, public statements by Lake Arrowhead Community Services District Board President John Wurm and Lake Arrowhead Community Services District Operations Manager have dwelt on the persistence of the problem and efforts to redress it, both by reducing the basic level of contamination and by the importation of water uncontaminated with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances from outside the immediate environs of Lake Arrowhead to dilute the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances level to below the threshold deemed by the State of California and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be safe for human consumption.
While previously both the state and federal government had not established a safety level for PFAS in drinking water, in April the United States Environmental Protection Agency set the national limits for six types of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water. At that time the maximum tolerance for perfluorooctanoic acid or PFOA and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid and PFOS cannot exceed 4 parts per trillion in public drinking water. The US EPA further restricted three additional PFAS chemicals – perfluorononanoic acid or PFNA and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid or PFHxS and Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) and two newer generation chemicals created as a replacement for PFOA – hexafluoropropylene oxide (HFPO) dimer acid and its ammonium salt at 10 perts per trillion.

According to Wurm, the Lake Arrowhead Community Services District had already set a precedent by importing water from the Crestline Lake Arrowhead Water Agency (CLAWA) to raise the level of Lake Arrowhead when it had been impacted by the drought. Brooks said the Lake Arrowhead Community Services District is now purchasing water from CLAWA not just to offset the drop in the lake level but also to add or blend that water with the locally sourced water to bring the PFAS level to within EPA standards.
Brooks said that water tested from the district’s various wells showed mixed results in terms of PFAS levels in those well vis-à-vis previous testing. In some cases the PFA levels are up and in other cases they are down.
At least 57 Lake Arrowhead Community Services District customers, according to Brooks, had been provided with rebates or partial rebates to cover their costs for purchasing in-home filtration systems.
The information available to the Sentinel relates to Lake Arrowhead Community Services District Wells #1, #2, #5, #6, and the Blue Jay Well. The last available information pertaining to Well #5 is from October 2023. Presumably, wells #3, #4, #5 and #7 are not in active use at present.
In Well #1, on December 18, 2023, there was no PFOA, PFOS, PFHpA, PFHxA, PFPeA, PFDA, PFBS, PFHxS, PFNA or PFBA detected. In Well #1, on January 11, 2024, there was no PFHpA, PFHxA, PFPeA, PFDA or PFNA detected, but there was more than 4 parts per trillion of PFOA and PFOS and more than 3 parts per trillion of PFBS and PFHxS and more than 5 parts per trillion of PFBA. In Well #1, on May 8, 2024, 2023, there was no PFOA, PFOS, PFHpA, PFHxA, PFPeA, PFDA, PFHxS, PFNA or PFBA detected, but there was 2.5 parts per trillion of PFBS detected. In Well #1, on August 7, 2024, 2023, there was no PFOA, PFOS, PFHpA, PFHxA, PFPeA, PFDA, PFHxS, PFNA or PFBA detected, but there was 2.4 parts per billion of PFBS detected.
In Well #2, on October 3, 2023, there was no PFHpA, PFDA or PFNA detected, but there was 6.2 parts per trillion of PFOA, 5.5 parts per billion of PFOS, 3.6 parts per trillion of PFHxA, 2.8 parts per trillion of PFPeA, 6.5 parts per trillion of PFBS, 3.2 parts per trillion of PFHxS and 2.5 parts per trillion of PFBA detected. In Well #2, on January 11, 2024, there was no PFDA or PFNA detected, but there was 5.8 parts per trillion of PFOA, 5.3 parts per billion of PFOS, greater than 3 parts per trillion of PFHpA, 3.7 parts per trillion of PFHxA, 3.1 parts per trillion of PFPeA, 6.2 parts per trillion of PFBS, 2.9 parts per trillion of PFHxS and greater than 5 parts per trillion of PFBA detected. In Well #2, on May 8, 2024, there was no PFHpA, PFPeA, PFDA PFHxS PFNA or PFBA detected, but there was 4.4 parts per trillion of PFOA, 4.8 parts per trillion of PFOS, 2.3 parts per trillion of PFHxA and 4.6 parts per trillion of PFBS. In Well #2, on August 7, 2024, there was no PFHpA, PFDA, PFNA or PFBA detected, but there was 4.3 parts per trillion of PFOA, 4.5 parts per trillion of PFOS, 2.6 parts per trillion of PFHxA, 2.2 parts per trillion of PFPeA, 4.4 parts per trillion of PFBS and 2.2 parts per trillion of PFHxS.
In Well #6, on October 3, 2023, there was no PFOA, PFOS, PFHpA, PFHpA, PFHxA, PFPeA, PFDA, PFBS, PFHxS, PFNA or PFBA detected. In Well #6, on January 11, 2024, there was no PFOA, PFOS, PFHpA, PFHpA, PFHxA, PFPeA, PFDA, PFBS, PFHxS, PFNA or PFBA detected. In Well #6, on May 8, 2024, there was no PFHpA, PFHxA, PFPeA, PFDA, PFNA or PFBA detected, but there was 2.3 trillion parts per trillion of PFOA, 2.3 parts per trillion of PFOS, 2.2 parts per trillion of PFBS and 2.4 parts per trillion of PFHxS detected. In Well #6, on August 7, 2024, there was no PFOA, PFOS, PFHpA, PFHxA, PFPeA, PFDA, PFBS, PFHxS, PFNA or PFBA detected.
In Well #8, on December 12, 2023, there was no PFOA, PFOS, PFHpA, PFHpA, PFHxA, PFPeA, PFDA, PFBS, PFHxS, PFNA or PFBA detected. In Well #6, on January 11, 2024, there was no PFHpA, PFHxA, PFPeA, PFDA or PFNA detected, but there was greater than 4 parts per trillion of PFOA, 4 parts per trillion of PFOS, greater than 3 parts per trillion of PFBS, greater than 3 parts per trillion of PFHxS and greater than 5 parts per trillion of PFBA detected.
In Well #8, on May 8, 2024, there was no PFOA, PFOS, PFHpA, PFHpA, PFHxA, PFPeA, PFDA, PFBS, PFHxS, PFNA or PFBA detected. In Well #8, on August 7, 2024, there was no PFOS, PFHpA, PFHxA, PFPeA, PFDA, PFBS, PFNA or PFBA detected, but there was 2.1 parts per trillion of PFOA and 2.1 parts per trillion of PFHxS detected.
In the Blue Jay Well, on June 11, 2024, there was no PFOA, PFOS, PFHpA, PFHxA, PFPeA, PFDA, PFBS, PFHxS, PFNA or PFBA detected.