PFAS have been found in all 27 well used for groundwater testing in Dakota County

Scattered across Dakota County, Minnesota, especially its rural landscape, are more than 8,000 private drinking wells.

Since 2018, the county's Environmental Resources Department has been testing a portion of them for PFAS, commonly known as "forever chemicals" that are linked to numerous health issues.

PFAS are used in household items like cookware, cosmetics, upholstery, and more. A recent state law banned their use in manufacturing.

Dakota County took water samples from 114 private drinking wells. PFAS were found in 94 of them, some of which had levels higher than state and federal drinking guidelines. PFAS were also found in all 27 environmental wells tested in the county.

Each well can now be viewed on a new online dashboard. The three most concerning types of PFAS are highlighted, showing if they're found in the well and whether they exceed guidelines.

Valeria Neppl, the groundwater protection unit supervisor for the county, said the data has been public for years. The dashboard now makes it easier for people to view.

"If you are on a private well and you're concerned about your water, this kind of gives you a chance to see what potentially could be in your area, determine what your risk are of pfas or potentially other contaminants," she said.

One well showing elevated PFAS was in the area of Janet Frandrup's farm in rural Hastings.

She told us her home fortunately has a reverse osmosis filtration system, which removes the forever chemicals.

Dakota County officials had a similar suggestion for anyone worried their private well, or one nearby, might have concerning level of PFAS.

"The recommendation that we have is you could do something as simple as doing a granulated activated carbon filter," said Neppl.

While Dakota County's dashboard focuses on wells, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has a statewide dashboard for community water systems.

More than 20 of them need to be treated for elevated levels of PFAS. That includes Robbinsdale in Hennepin County. Crews there working with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) are drilling hundreds of feet into the ground this month to locate the chemicals' source.

"Municipal water… it's tested. The (Minnesota) Dept. of Health regulates that. They have to meet federal drinking water standards. But if you're on a private well, really you're responsible for your own system," said Neppl. "So, it's up to you to make decisions on your treatment."

Dakota County said taking samples to find PFAS can help identify a possible source. Their data has been shared with MDH and the MPCA.

For more information on how to treat the water in your home for PFAS, click here.

To see Dakota County's dashboard, click here.

To see the statewide dashboard, click here.                

The MPCA released the following statement regarding Dakota County's new dashboard:

"Dakota County's PFAS dashboard reinforces statewide data on the pervasiveness of PFAS in the environment and the need to take action to protect human health, the environment, and our economy from PFAS pollution.

This data is useful for PFAS remediation work, including pollution source investigations and drinking water treatment. Total costs for protecting drinking water to federal standards for PFAS will exceed $1 billion in Minnesota, including drinking water treatment, investigation, and remedial actions. Removing and destroying PFAS from wastewater would cost billions more. Minnesota is prioritizing pollution prevention as the most effective way to protect communities from PFAS. Under a nation-leading pollution prevention law known as Amara's Law, Minnesota is phasing out nonessential use of PFAS in products by 2032."