What are PFAS?
The chemicals that never break down
PFAS are a family of over 12,000 synthetic chemicals used in manufacturing since the 1940s. They’re found in non-stick cookware, food packaging, stain-resistant fabrics and firefighting foam. The same property that makes them useful, an extremely stable carbon-fluorine bond, is what makes them a problem in water. They don’t break down, so they build up in the environment and in the body.
PFAS have been measured in rainwater, rivers, groundwater and springs worldwide, often far from industrial sites. A 2024 study in Nature Geoscience found source water in many regions already exceeds PFAS limits. Australia is no exception.
What the research found
New testing is finding what was missed
In August 2025, researchers at UNSW published one of the most detailed analyses of PFAS in Australian drinking water to date. They found at least 31 different PFAS chemicals in Sydney tap water, 21 of which had never been recorded there before.
PFBA was the most common and turned up in every tap water sample. 6:2 diPAP was detected in tap water for the first time anywhere in the world, and 3:3 FTCA for the first time in Australian tap water. PFOS, one of the most studied PFAS compounds, was measured at 6 parts per trillion (ppt) in some samples.
PFOS at 6 ppt sits below Australia’s guideline of 8 ppt, but above the US EPA limit of 4 ppt. The same water that passes in Australia would be over the limit in the United States.
Friends of the Earth Australia has documented around 450 PFAS detections across 66 locations nationally. Around 30% exceed the combined PFOS + PFHxS guideline. If the tighter US limits applied, roughly 69% would be in breach.
There is currently no nationally coordinated PFAS monitoring program for drinking water in Australia.
That gap means many Australians are drinking water that has never been tested for PFAS, let alone for the 31+ compounds now known to show up.
Spring water & groundwater
Is spring water any safer?
It’s easy to assume spring water is clean. But PFAS reach groundwater and springs through soil from contaminated land, through rainfall, and from past use of firefighting foam at defence sites, airports and fire training grounds, which are often close to natural catchments.
PFAS can take years or decades to move from surface contamination into groundwater, so water that tested clean in the past may since have been affected. Springs near farmland treated with PFAS-containing biosolids, a common agricultural practice, are especially at risk.
In 2024, researchers tested 50 freshwater springs in Florida, USA, often thought of as some of the cleanest water sources left. They found PFAS in 63% of spring vent samples, with 13 different PFAS measured. The most common were PFBS, PFOA and PFOS.
Closer to home, a 2025 study reported PFAS in deep groundwater across south-eastern Australia, challenging the assumption that deeper bores are protected.
Updated by the NHMRC in June 2025, when the PFOS value was also tightened to 8 ng/L.
The US EPA’s enforceable limit for PFOA in public drinking water.
Even after the 2025 update, Australian water that meets the local guideline can sit well above the US limits.
Health considerations
Why this matters
PFAS build up in the body over time, in blood, liver, kidney and thyroid tissue. Long-term exposure, even at low levels, has been associated with effects on hormone, immune and thyroid function. For anyone focused on clean water and ionisation, PFAS are a real and under-discussed concern.
Unlike chlorine or heavy metals, PFAS usually aren’t covered in standard council water quality reports, so most Australians have no easy way to know their levels.
What actually works
Reducing PFAS at the tap
Point-of-use treatment can help, and activated carbon is the most studied way to reduce PFAS in drinking water. Three things matter most: using the right carbon, replacing it on time, and pairing it with ultrafiltration where possible.
Activated carbon
High-surface-area carbon adsorbs PFAS through contact time. Our Carbon Ultimate and Bore Carbon filters both use acid-washed, activated coconut catalytic carbon. Bore Carbon also adds KDF85.
Ultrafiltration
Our Ultra Filter (0.01 µm) adds a layer that supports removal of particle-bound PFAS, along with microbial and sediment contaminants.
Pre-filtered ionisation
Your ioniser works better with cleaner input. Pre-filtration protects your plates and improves the water you drink every day.
Replace it on time. The US EPA notes activated carbon can be highly effective at reducing PFAS for a period of time. Once its adsorption sites fill up, it stops capturing PFAS, which is why replacing your filters on schedule matters.
Pair it with ultrafiltration where you can. Our Ultra Filter (0.01 µm) adds a second layer that supports removal of particle-bound PFAS, alongside microbial and sediment contaminants.
The extra step that clears the pores
Activated carbon works by adsorption: contaminants stick to the surface of millions of tiny pores. Making carbon means heating raw material such as coconut shell or coal to very high temperatures, and that process leaves behind ash and other mineral impurities that can sit in those pores and block them.
Acid washing is an extra manufacturing step that rinses out the ash and impurities, opening up more of the carbon’s adsorption sites. Every carbon filter in our range, Carbon Ultimate and Bore Carbon, uses acid-washed, activated coconut catalytic carbon.
Does it make a difference for PFAS? A 2025 lab study compared the same carbon after a plain water wash and after an acid wash. Acid washing increased its surface area by around 100 m²/g and unblocked pores, and the acid-washed carbon captured both PFOA and the short-chain PFBS faster than the water-washed carbon.
The study used powdered carbon in the lab. The advantage was smaller in water containing natural organic matter, and an extra heat-treatment step improved results further.
For town water, the Triple Town Water system (Fluoride Filter → Carbon Ultimate → H2 Booster) puts acid-washed carbon at the heart of your setup. For bore or well water, the Triple Bore setup (Ultra Filter → Bore Carbon → H2 Booster) adds ultrafiltration first. Both are designed to run with your ioniser.
The bottom line
Don’t wait for Australia to catch up
Australia’s drinking water guidelines are population-wide safety thresholds, not targets for optimal health. Even after the 2025 update they sit well above US limits, and with no national monitoring program most Australians are making decisions about their water without the information they need.
If you’re on town water or spring water, especially near defence sites, airports, industrial areas or farmland, and haven’t looked at pre-filtration, now is a good time to start. Your ioniser is only as good as the water going into it.
Clean water is the foundation. Everything else builds on it.
Sources
- UNSW Sydney, More PFAS in Sydney tap water than previously thought, August 2025
- Friends of the Earth Australia, PFAS contamination in Australian water
- Nature Geoscience, Global PFAS in source water, 2024
- NHMRC, Updated Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (PFAS), June 2025
- US EPA, PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation, April 2024
- US EPA, Reducing PFAS in drinking water with treatment technologies
- Holden et al., Have PFAS infiltrated Florida’s freshwater springs?, Science of the Total Environment, 2024
- ACS ES&T Water, Challenging assumptions: PFAS detected in deep groundwater across south-eastern Australia, 2025
- ACS ES&T Water, Improving the hydrophobicity of powder activated carbon to enhance PFAS adsorption, 2025