Characteristics of ‘early adopters’ of water treatment capacity needed to remove PFAS and other emerging contaminants in the United States

Key Points

• This research aims to identify factors influencing the adoption of advanced water treatment among community water systems.
• Comparison of water treatment adoption between large and small community water systems.
• Analysis of treatment process trends from 2004 to 2022.
• Evaluation of capacity needed to remove PFAS and other contaminants.
• Larger community water systems were 7-8 times more likely to adopt advanced treatment processes than smaller systems.
• Significant increase in adoption rates observed over the years.
• The size of the water system is a crucial factor in treatment process advancements.