A plan to remove PFAS contamination from water is in the works at the Cherokee Metropolitan District in El Paso County

The design phase for a treatment system to remove PFAS contamination from water is underway at the Cherokee Metropolitan District in El Paso County. The so-called forever chemicals known as PFAS come from households, commercial enterprises and other sources and are found nearly everywhere. In the Pikes Peak region, they've also been linked to firefighting foam from Peterson Space Force Base, formerly Peterson Air Force Base.

Kevin Brown manages the district that serves about 18,000 customers adjacent to Colorado Springs. He said they’ve been evaluating the best methods of removing the contaminants for about a year.

“I'm glad we did this real-world testing," he said. “Because the technology that in a lab showed the best results, showed the worst results in the real world, and the more average one performed the best with our particular blend of water quality.”

Brown said the levels they are dealing with are lower than in some other parts of the county.

He also said federal deadlines regarding the ubiquitous forever chemicals might change, but the Cherokee Metro District will still move forward with their plan.

“Whatever happens with the federal government,” he said, “we're committed to maintaining that timeline that was originally put forward because we think we can. We're ahead of the game with our testing and piloting and now we're moving into design.”

He aims to have the new treatment facility online in 2029 or possibly even sooner.

“We have to always be wary of construction shocks, supply chain issues,” he said. ”Things always come up, but even with some float built into the schedule, we're confident we can deliver it on that time scale.”

Cost estimates for the project are not available yet, as the district waits for the engineering reports currently in progress.