An investigation is underway at wells along Buckley Road after high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) were found in groundwater near the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport.
“Many of us have had this water to drink for more than 40 years of our lives with these contaminants,” said Mike Olivera, who owns commercial property near Buckley Road.
Kathy Borland has lived right across the street from the airport for about 40 years. She raised her seven kids on Buckley Road.
“We ate our meat from our animals and we drank goat's milk, so you know, again, we have no idea how long this contamination has been going on,” Borland said.
An investigation began in 2019 at airports around the state, so the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board notified residents about potential PFAS in wells. PFAS were found in groundwater near the San Luis Obispo Airport in 2022.
“PFAS are a class of chemicals that are used because of their heat resistance and resistant to water and grease as typically a coating on products like food packaging or carpet or clothing,” explained Greg Bishop, Senior Engineering Geologist with the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board.
In this case, it comes from Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF), which is a firefighting foam required by the FAA to quickly contain aircraft-related fires.
“The concerns we have about PFAS is once they're in the environment, like in the groundwater we see around the airport, they'll never break down on their own,” Bishop said.
57 out of 74 wells sampled by the county resulted in an above response level established by the State’s Division of Drinking Water.
“They advise above a response level that a water supply either have treatment applied or be taken out of service and that water not served to the community,” Bishop said.
What are the health concerns associated with PFAS?
“PFOS and PFOA, both of which are detected in the groundwater around the airport, were added to the California Prop 65 list because they are known to cause cancer and to have other toxicity effects to people like in reproductive and development stages,” Bishop said.
Borland can’t help but think a health problem she had might be related.
“Ten years ago, I did have a major liver issue and the doctors could never quite figure out what that was about,” she said.
How did these contaminants make their way from the airport to the properties along Buckley Road? Residents believe a culvert that runs through Borland's property might be the answer.
There are other theories.
“We have a high concentration of PFAS detected in groundwater and in the soil above it, near the existing fire station,” Bishop said. “There's also stormwater flow paths where surface water runs off and is discharged over one section of Buckley Road that may have contributed some PFAS.”
According to Bishop, there is another scenario that might be the most likely source of PFAS.
“We know that the fire foam testing in past years was often done by spraying PFAS-laden foam onto the ground directly across the street from some of those homes,” Bishop added.
On July 21, 2023, a three-year agreement was ratified during a Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board Meeting.
“The Voluntary Cleanup Agreement really speaks to our collaborative effort between the County of San Luis Obispo and CAL FIRE and our willingness to step forward and really try and help clean up the airport-related issues for the surrounding community,” said Courtney Pene, Deputy Director, Planning & Outreach for the SLO County Airport.
Within 30 days from ratification, the airport parties will offer point-of-use drinking water PFAS treatment.
Most residents already have that, though.
“We have the carbon filter that goes into the house right now, so all of our house water is filtered,” Borland explained. “All of the irrigation, all of this out here you see is not filtered, so what we're doing is continuing to pollute the ground. ”
Within one year, treatment will expand to point-of-entry systems.
CAL FIRE has also taken steps to prevent further pollution and to reduce the exposure of fire crews to this foam.
“We don't flow it anymore for training; we don't flow it for testing,” said Chief John Owens, CAL FIRE San Luis Obispo County. “We only flow it for actual emergencies or fires that would require the use of the AFFF.”
If an emergency requires the use of the foam, the SLO County Airport has a plan.
“We would try to mitigate the spread of the foam as fast as possible, and then we would safely dispose of it,” Pene said.
Residents still have concerns.
“Reimbursement was an issue we brought up. If we go ahead and do this and not wait for you, are we going to get reimbursed? We don't know that yet, and we want community involvement,” Borland said.
“Part of the ratification was that the airport parties would still consider the reimbursement to individuals who already installed people's systems on their wellhead, so that is still something that would be considered going forward,” Pene responded.
A total estimate for this project is still in the works, but according to Pene, the investigation so far has cost around $2 million.
“Future testing will continue throughout the investigation area, and we will continue to test, we'll continue to monitor and continue to report back to residents what's happening,” Pene said.
“We do hope there will be great urgent follow-through to get this problem fixed. For now, there's still a lot more work to do,” Olivera said.
Chief Owens said the FAA and Department of Defense are working together to find a non-PFAS foam to respond to fire incidents at airports across the country.
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