by James Boyle, originally posted on July 18, 2016

Chalfont, New Britain and New Britain Township have become the latest communities to shut down a public well because of contamination.

Aqua Pennsylvania alerted residents Friday that test results from one of three wells showed a high level of perfluorinated compounds. The well contained 68 ppt of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), according to a company statement. The level is below the 70 ppt health advisory threshold set by the U.S. Envirionmental Protection Agency in May.

The result prompted Aqua Pennsylvania to take the well offline, leaving it as a backup for a fire emergency. An Aqua spokeswoman declined to identify the location of the well, citing company policy not to disclose that information. The other two wells in the Chalfont-New Britain water system tested at 9.6 ppt and 24 ppt for the chemicals and remain in use.