Residents in one Illinois community are expressing concern as testing showed rising levels of forever chemicals in their water. 

What's happening?

The city of Collinsville sent a notice to residents in early 2025 after discovering high levels of PFAS chemicals in raw water. Now, additional testing has shown that these levels are increasing and have even reached a point where the city's current treatment process can no longer fully remove these chemicals from water before it reaches the community. 

According to KMOV, the city is recommending that people filter the water they use for cooking and drinking.

The news sparked concern from local residents like Amy Honer.

"I am a breast cancer survivor," Honer told the news site. "I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016, and at the time, I didn't know anything about water. … I really didn't know that there was a concern with water and chemicals in our water. I had no idea. I always thought it's clear, so it's good. I grew up, just like everybody else, drinking out of the garden hose."

Why is PFAS concerning?

PFAS refers to a group of human-made chemicals that have been used in consumer products such as nonstick cookware and water-resistant clothing, as well as in firefighting foams, for decades. 

Because PFAS have been widely used, they have made their way into drinking water sources in communities across the globe. For instance, residents in one Wisconsin town are concerned about "forever chemicals" that were discovered in their wells. Testing in one Michigan county found that of 146 private well samples, 44 exceeded current regulatory thresholds for PFAS.

As a result of all of this contamination, the majority of people in the U.S. are suspected to have PFAS in their bloodstreams. 

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, PFAS exposure has been linked to a variety of health problems, including decreased fertility, increased risk of certain cancers, and reduced ability of the body's immune system to fight infections.

What's being done about PFAS?

Collinsville opened a water treatment plant in 2019 that has so far been fairly successful at removing PFAS before water reached residents' taps, per KMOV. However, the rising levels have city managers concerned. While they have not identified the culprit yet, they have plans for a PFAS-specific filtration system at the water treatment plant that is slated for a 2029 completion. 

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While you probably can't eliminate PFAS completely from your surroundings, you can lower your exposure to these chemicals by avoiding nonstick cookware and limiting your purchases of stain- and water-resistant clothing. PFAS Central has a list of PFAS-free products.

Meanwhile, scientists are looking for more effective ways to remove it from our water. For instance, a team at the University of Illinois found a way to extract the full spectrum of PFAS from water in a single process.

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