Read the full article at The Guardian

Here’s a summary:

• Invisible Pollution: Many US wetlands are being contaminated with PFAS “forever chemicals” through the use of wastewater treatment plant effluent for restoration.
• The Problem with Effluent: While effluent is treated to kill pathogens and contains nutrients beneficial for plant growth, the treatment process does not remove PFAS or hundreds of thousands of other chemicals.
• Widespread Contamination: Testing consistently shows concerning levels of PFAS in effluent, yet its use for wetland, river, and aquifer restoration is often misleadingly promoted as “environmentally friendly.”
• Health and Environmental Risks: Environmental advocates warn that this practice threatens wildlife, food sources, and drinking water, as PFAS are linked to serious health problems (e.g., cancer, liver disease, birth defects) and accumulate in the environment and human body.
• Vast Scale of Use: Wastewater treatment plants discharge massive volumes of effluent daily, which has been used to recharge hundreds of wetlands, rivers (some becoming “effluent dominated” like the Trinity River near Dallas), and aquifers across the country.
• Examples of Use: Large-scale projects in Louisiana and Florida use effluent for bayou restoration, coastal erosion protection, and regenerating the Everglades.
• Drinking Water Contamination: In Orange County, California, effluent is used to recharge an aquifer that supplies drinking water for 2.5 million people, even as water districts spend billions to remove PFAS from the same water.
• Misleading Terminology: The practice is often labeled “water recycling” or “green,” but critics argue these terms are misleading as toxic waste (including microplastics and heavy metals, not just PFAS) is being unchecked into the environment.
• Lack of Regulation and Research: Few regulations exist for chemicals in wastewater, and there’s limited research on the specific effects of effluent-borne PFAS on wildlife, though similar issues (e.g., lupus-like conditions in alligators) have been observed where industrial PFAS polluted wetlands.
• Potential Solutions & Challenges: “Constructed wetlands” that use specific plants to take up PFAS from controlled effluent flows offer a potential treatment method, but the contaminated plants would require hazardous waste disposal. Overall, there’s a lack of acknowledgment and action within the wastewater industry regarding this chemical problem.