Camas, Environment, Health, Latest News, News The city of Camas said May 15, that “an emergency situation” had caused two of the City’s drinking water wells to be non-functional, forcing the City to turn on Well 13, which has been known to have levels of synthetic chemicals known as polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or “forever chemicals” due to how slowly they break down inside the human body or in the environment.
On its Engage Camas site, the City said it turned Well 13 on “earlier than intended” due to the hot weather and the emergency situation that had impacted two other drinking water wells.
In the future, the City stated, “Well 13 will be the last well in rotation and will only be used if water consumption reaches a high level and the other City wells cannot keep up.”
The City added that Camas residents can “help postpone or limit the use of Well 13 through water conservation efforts – primarily limiting use of your irrigation system, and at most, watering on odd-even days based on your address throughout the summer.”
“Water supply is vital for the health of the community and the difficult decision to turn Well 13 on now as a precaution was made only due to the emergency situation, but we want to ensure that water can be provided to all customers,” the City stated.
For more information, visit engagecamas.com/pfas-and-the-camas-water-system
