Two Years Since PFAS Rules: Your Office Still Isn't Compliant

April marks two years since the EPA dropped the hammer on PFAS in drinking water. On April 10, 2024, it finalized the first-ever national drinking water standards for these "forever chemicals": 4.0 parts per trillion each for PFOA and PFOS, 10 ppt for PFHxS, PFNA and GenX, and a hazard index for mixtures. Public water systems got three years to finish initial monitoring and five to comply.

The results? Pretty good for public utilities. Not so much for your office breakroom.

Public Water Systems Are Getting It Done

Municipal water departments had to move. EPA's own estimate was that between about 6% and 10% of the 66,000 systems covered would have to take action, and that the rule would reduce PFAS exposure for approximately 100 million people, prevent thousands of deaths, and reduce tens of thousands of serious illnesses.

Two years in, the picture is mixed. Madison is the local proof it can be done: Well 15 was shut down over PFAS in 2019 and came back online in September 2025 behind a $5.9 million activated carbon and ion exchange plant that removes all measurable PFAS. But the national clock has also slipped. Update, September 2026: in May 2026 EPA proposed letting systems request until 2031 to comply and proposed rescinding the limits for PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and the mixture rule; the PFOA and PFOS limits stay at 4.0 ppt.

That's real progress. But here's what bugs me.

Your Office Water Didn't Get the Memo

Walk into most office breakrooms today and you'll find the same setup from 2024. Municipal water straight from the tap. Maybe a basic carbon filter if you're lucky. The same water that made headlines for PFAS contamination.

I sell water systems, so take this with a grain of salt. But the disconnect is obvious. Public utilities spent millions upgrading their treatment. Your office spent zero.

The EPA rules only apply to public water systems. Private employers? They can keep serving whatever comes out of the tap.

The Health Math Is Simple

OSHA doesn't recommend that employers provide drinking water. It requires it. 29 CFR 1910.141(b)(1)(i) says "potable water shall be provided in all places of employment," and defines potable as water that meets state standards or EPA's National Primary Drinking Water Regulations. That's not hippie wellness talk — that's the federal floor, and it points straight back at the same PFAS limits the utilities are working toward.

Most offices I walk into serve whatever the municipal tap delivers, untreated past the meter. Nobody in the building has ever tested it, and nobody is required to.

The Easy Fix Nobody Makes

Point-of-use water systems solve this at the tap. Activated carbon, ion exchange and reverse osmosis — the same treatment families Madison put on Well 15 — come in under-counter and cooler sizes. They connect to your existing plumbing. The water gets treated right before you drink it.

But most facilities managers don't think about water quality. They think about keeping the lights on and the HVAC running. Water just comes from the wall.

I see this pattern everywhere. Companies that spend thousands on ergonomic chairs and standing desks have never once asked what's in the water. It's backwards.

Two Years Later

The EPA's PFAS rules were a big deal. They forced the conversation about forever chemicals. They made public water safer.

But the workplace conversation never happened. Most offices are serving the same water they did in April 2024. Same PFAS levels. Same health risks. Same missed opportunity to actually take care of employees.

The technology exists. The regulations created awareness. The only thing missing is someone deciding to actually use both.