GILBERTSVILLE, P.A. (KYW Newsradio) — Water at Gilbertsville Elementary School in Montgomery County contains forever chemicals, known as PFAS, and Boyertown School District has begun weighing its options to remove the toxins.
Samples taken from wells supplying water to the school recently tested positive for the chemicals and are within the legal limits, but the amounts of two PFAS found are higher than new standards developed by federal officials set to go into effect in 2031.
PFAS can cause significant health problems, including cardiovascular disease and some cancers.
During a presentation before the Boyertown School Board Tuesday night Jeremy Crum of Suburban Water Technologies presented the board with filtration options. One is a carbon-based system.
“Carbon filtration works great. The downside to it is it takes a bigger footprint because you need more contact time to reduce PFAs and PFOA using carbon filtration,” said Crum.
Crum also presented a resin-based filtration system and despite it costing more, was the recommended system to install.
“Anion resin is more expensive than the carbon, but you only use about a quarter of it based on the contact time,” said Crum.
The $30,000 initial cost and $4,000 recurring cost for upkeep gave district officials some pause.
Superintendent Scott David Heiser said the district has inquired about grants from Pennvest to help with the costs of a filtration system. He also said the district is considering connecting the school to a public water system provided by Aqua PA.
“It could be pretty substantial as to where that hook up [happens], and the type, and whether we qualify for that type of hookup or not,” said Heiser.