PFAS Levels Elevated At Most Industrial Monitoring Points In This NoVA Watershed: Report

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VA – Levels of “forever chemicals” at most of the Occoquan watershed industrial sites being monitored are higher than federal and state standards, according to a new report.

The Prince William Times reports that Dulles International Airport and Micron's semiconductor plant in Manassas are the top PFAS polluters into the watershed of the Occoquan Reservoir, which provides drinking water for roughly 1 million people in Prince William and Fairfax Counties.

Eleven of the 16 monitored sites have elevated PFAS levels.

PFAS refers to a group of thousands of synthetic chemicals used in a multitude of common household items. They also have a variety of industrial applications. The chemicals have permeated soil, water and animal bodies and break down very, very slowly. Their impact on human health has only recently begun to be studied, but some may have adverse health effects.

Only in roughly the past two decades have U.S. regulators begun to attempt to assess and regulate PFAS levels.

The Prince William Times collected data from the past year. Legislation from 2025 mandated that industrial polluters report their PFAS emissions.

See more from the Prince William Times here.