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Contaminants of Emerging Concern: PFAS
NEW! PFAS in the DRB Webinar: June 15, 2026


DRBC staff will hold a public webinar, "PFAS in the Delaware River Basin: An Update from the DRBC," to discuss notable trends and takeaways from DRBC's recent field investigations and demonstrate a new interactive application that visualizes PFAS levels across the Basin.

Date: Monday, June 15, 2026

Time: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Report: PFAS Water Quality and Fish Tissue Assessment Study - Year 3 (May 2026)

Web Application: PFAS in the Delaware River Basin 

→ Register for the Webinar
What are PFAS?
A photo of water and sediment samples on the Neshaminy Creek. Photo by the DRBC.
A photo of water and sediment samples
collected from the Pennypack Creek. Photo by the DRBC.

 

PFAS: Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)

  • A diverse group of >14,000 chemical compounds with varying degrees of persistence, toxicity and bioaccumulation in the environment

  • Most produced and studied: Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)

  • Known as "forever chemicals," with unique properties to repel both water and oil, as well as heat stability

  • Characterized by strong carbon-fluorine bonds that render them resistant to degradation and result in indefinite environmental persistence
Pathways, Exposure & Drinking Water


What is made of PFAS?

PFAS are found in a variety of industrial and household products, including:

  • Fire-fighting foams

  • Nonstick cookware, paper coatings & food packaging

  • Stain repellent & waterproof textiles (clothing, furniture, carpet)


Exposure to PFAS


There is increasing evidence of PFAS adversely affecting human health and the environment.

PFAS exposure occurs via:

  • Environmental release through industrial outfalls, municipal treatment plants, firefighting foams, stormwater runoff and landfill leachate

  • These releases contaminate surface water and groundwater - and have been found in drinking water - and bioaccumulate in fish 

  • Wildlife and humans exposed through direct (swimming, drinking water, etc.) and indirect (consumption of contaminated organisms, etc.) pathways


Protecting Drinking Water


To manage and reduce PFAS exposure, the Basin states and the EPA have implemented health advisories, drinking water standards and fish consumption advisories. 

Specific to drinking water protection:
DRBC Monitors PFAS in the Delaware River Basin
DRBC staff collects a sediment sample from the Neshaminy Creek to monitor for PFAS. Photo by DRBC.
Collecting blue crabs in the Delaware Bay to monitor for PFAS. Photo by the DRBC.

(Top) DRBC staff collects a sediment sample from the Neshaminy Creek to monitor for PFAS. (Bottom) Collecting blue crabs in the Delaware Bay to monitor for PFAS. Photos by the DRBC.

Why does the DRBC Collect PFAS Data?


It is important to quantify PFAS occurrence, sources and bioaccumulation to:

  • Better understand risks to designated uses: source water protection (drinking water); fish consumption advisories; and maintenance and propagation of fish and other aquatic life 

  • Evaluate the efficacy of regulatory and reduction management strategies in reducing exposure and risks from PFAS


DRBC Monitoring Efforts


  • DRBC has investigated PFAS in Delaware River fish tissue since 2004.

   → Non-tidal Species: white sucker and smallmouth bass

   → Tidal Species: channel catfish and white perch

  • DRBC also has monitored for PFAS in surface water since 2007 and in sediment since 2016.

  • DRBC also monitors PFAS in blue crabs in the Delaware Bay.

DRBC Partners on PFAS

  • DRBC works with the Basin states, EPA and others to understand and manage these contaminants of emerging concern.

  • DRBC also works with its Toxics Advisory Committee (TAC), Monitoring and Advisory Coordination Committee (MACC) and Water Quality Advisory Committee (WQAC) to solicit input from experts and stakeholders in the Basin on how to improve its monitoring program. 
DRBC PFAS Studies

Recently, DRBC has completed several PFAS studies (note: grant-funded projects are noted by an *). 

Delaware River Conservation Fund (NFWF*)

  • In 2021 and 2022, the DRBC collected samples of surface water, sediment, fish and blue crabs to monitor for 40 different analytes of PFAS in the mainstem Delaware River at seven locations from Lackawaxen, Pa. in the upper Delaware to Pea Patch Island, Del. Five tributaries were also sampled, including the Neshaminy Creek and the Lehigh, Schuylkill and Christina rivers.

  • Data collected show a general trend of increasing PFAS concentrations from upstream to downstream, likely due to increasing population, commercial and industry densities as you head towards Pea Patch Island in the Delaware Bay.

  • In July 2023, the DRBC published PFAS Water Quality and Fish Tissue Assessment Study: Year 1 (archived PDF).

  • In 2023, 15 main stem sites from Lackawaxen, Pa. to Pea Patch Island, Del. and 1 tributary (Schuylkill) were sampled for water and sediment and 9 sites for fish and 1 for blue crabs. Forty different analytes of PFAS were monitored for, and samples were collected in the spring and fall.

  • In March 2024, the DRBC published PFAS Water Quality and Fish Tissue Assessment Study: Year 2 (archived PDF).

  • In  May 2026, the DRBC published PFAS Water Quality and Fish Tissue Assessment Study - Year 3.


PA Coastal Zone Management (PACZM*)

  • This work was financed, in part, through a Federal Coastal Zone Management Grant, administered by the PADEP and funded by NOAA.

  • For Year 1 of this grant, the DRBC was able to monitor 17 total sites, 10 in the mainstem Delaware River Estuary bordering Pennsylvania and 7 in Pa. tidal tributaries, near their confluence with the Delaware River. Over 40 different PFAS compounds were monitored for. The same general trend of increasing PFAS concentrations from upstream to downstream, likely due to increasing population, commercial and industry densities, was seen.

  • In July 2023, the DRBC published PFAS in Surface Water, Sediment and Fish in the Pennsylvania Coastal Zone (archived PDF) for year 1 of the project.

  • In 2023, monitoring for Year 2 of this grant collected sediment and surface water samples at 17 sites in the tidal Delaware River and adjacent Pa. tributaries. Collection of fish tissue at 6 sites occurred in October 2023 and May 2024.

  • In July 2025, the DRBC published Characterization of PFAS in Surface Water, Sediment and Fish in the Pennsylvania Coastal Zone (archived PDF) for year 2 of the project.


Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law*)

  • In 2023, thanks to grant funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that came to the DRBC through the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, surface water from 12 tidal tributaries were sampled from south of Trenton, N.J. to Delaware.

  • Parameters sampled for included PFAS, PCBs, Dioxins, Furans, Organochlorine Insecticides, Neonicotinoid Insecticides, Pyrazole Pesticides and PAHs.

  • The DRBC found some level of pollution from each group of chemicals analyzed at each tributary, although the amounts varied.

  • Future work will help track down the sources of these pollutants in tributaries, which contribute to pollutants in the mainstem Delaware River.

  • Enhanced Monitoring for Toxics and Emerging Contaminants in Delaware Estuary Tributaries (Final Report; archived PDF; April 2025)


N.J. Water Supply Authority: Delaware & Raritan Canal

  • In the spring 2024, the DRBC deployed passive samplers in the D&R Canal (in both the DRB and Raritan Basin) to help the N.J. Water Supply Authority determine sources of PFAS in the canal. The canal is a source of drinking water. Initial results show higher PFAS concentrations in the Raritan portion of the D&R Canal than in the DRB.

 

PFAS Monitoring Photos

 

DRBC staff collects a surface water sample from the Delaware River to monitor for PFAS. Photo by DRBC. DRBC staff collects a sediment sample from the Delaware River to monitor for PFAS. Photo by DRBC. DRBC staff collects a surface water sample from the Delaware River to monitor for PFAS. Photo by DRBC.
DRBC staff collects a surface water
sample from the Delaware River to
monitor for PFAS. Photo by DRBC.		 DRBC staff collects a sediment sample
from the Delaware River to monitor for
PFAS. Photo by DRBC.		 DRBC staff collects a surface water
sample from the Delaware River to
monitor for PFAS. Photo by DRBC.
DRBC staff collected several species of fish, including catfish, from the Delaware River to monitor for PFAS. Photo by DRBC. DRBC staff collected several blue crabs from the Delaware Bay to monitor for PFAS. Photo by DRBC. DRBC staff collected several species of fish, including catfish, from the Delaware River to monitor for PFAS.Photo by DRBC.
DRBC staff collected several species of
fish, including catfish, from the
Delaware River to monitor for PFAS.
Photo by DRBC.		 DRBC staff collected blue crabs from
the Delaware Bay to monitor for PFAS.
Photo by DRBC.		 DRBC staff collected several species of
fish, including catfish, from the
Delaware River to monitor for PFAS.
Photo by DRBC.

 
DRBC PFAS Web Application

With over 20 years of monitoring, the DRBC's PFAS dataset is extensive. Data have also been collected by USGS and the EPA. However, the information has not been easily accessible for stakeholders and the public to visualize and analyze without specialized experience working with large environmental datasets.

In May 2026, the DRBC published a new interactive application that visualizes PFAS data from across the Basin. Combining PFAS data from federal, state and other entities into one interactive map, this project enables the public to view and explore known contamination in the Delaware River Basin, including local watersheds. 

The dataset currently includes more than 2,000 PFAS samples retrieved from EPA and USGS-hosted APIs; more than 1,700 of these are surface water and groundwater samples, while nearly 300 are tissue samples representing 17 aquatic species.

As monitoring continues and analytical methods evolve, this tool is expected to grow alongside DRBC's long-term PFAS strategy.

→ View the Application: PFAS in the Delaware River Basin
PFAS Data to Date & Next Steps


What Do the Data Show to Date?

  • PFAS contamination is widespread, persistent and increasing downstream in the Delaware River Basin, particularly in tidal waters.

  • Concentrations of PFAS in resident fish varied by species, sample location and sample year.

  • Surface water concentrations of PFAS appear to be below regional and national guidelines in areas designated as drinking water sources.

  • While significant decreases in some PFAS compounds have been observed in fish species, reduction in concentrations of other PFAS, such as PFOS, in fish tissue has been less substantial and has triggered fish consumption advisories in Basin states.

  • Sediment from the tidal main stem Delaware River have long-chain PFAS detected at low concentrations.

  • Further evaluation of risk to human health and wildlife is warranted in the Delaware River. 


Long-term Roadmap

PFAS are highly persistent, mobile, and bioaccumulative chemicals that present long-term challenges for water quality management. DRBC's strategy to reduce PFAS emphasizes a phased, science-based approach that includes monitoring, improving data synthesis and integration, identifying potential sources, and supporting regulatory and management decisions across the Basin. 


→ DRBC's next steps include:

  • Continued monitoring to track trends and determine sources and hotspots

  • Regular updates to the DRBC's PFAS interactive tool, sharing with the public all open-access PFAS data for the Basin to enhance understanding and awareness

  • Continue to share PFAS information to enhance public understanding and regional coordination

  • Support science-based management actions to reduce PFAS inputs, protect aquatic life and wildlife and safeguard human health  
Archived Reports & Presentations by DRBC

All archived reports and presentations are PDFs.


Reports/Publications


Presentations Given
Related Resources