Galesburg residents will receive a notice from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in the coming weeks regarding elevated levels of a “forever chemical” found in raw water from some city wells.
The city says the samples came from raw, unfinished water at three wells that currently are not in use, while the finished water delivered to residents’ homes remains below the state standard for PFOS, or perfluorooctanesulfonic acid.
PFOS are a compound within the larger family of PFAS, a group of synthetic chemicals that do not break down in the environment or the human body, hence the moniker “forever chemicals.”
Public Works Director Aaron Gavin said the upcoming notice could be misleading because it reports levels found in raw, unfinished water at the well source. He emphasized that the quality of the city's finished water has not changed since residents received a similar mailing in 2025 regarding PFOA, another forever chemical, in finished water.
“Rather, the IEPA has shifted to reporting unfinished water at the well source for this notice, versus the finished water delivered to resident’s homes, which has historically been reported,” Gavin said in a press release.
Galesburg’s water comes from aquifers near Mississippi River in Oquawka. The water is transported to Galesburg via a 31-mile pipeline.
The new IEPA notice comes after Illinois updated its drinking water regulations. The new standards establish a maximum contaminant level of 4 parts per trillion for six PFAS compounds, including PFOS.
The recent IEPA sampling found PFOS levels of 15 ppt and 4.7 ppt in the raw, unfinished water from wells, exceeding the state’s groundwater standards.
Monitoring under the new standards began in the spring, and public water systems have until 2029 to be in full compliance.
The city says it will be in compliance well ahead of that deadline. It plans to retire the two wells that tested at 15 ppt for PFOS. The third well, which tested at 4.7 ppt, will only be used on an emergency basis.
In addition, the city is the design phase for two new wells further from the river that have tested PFAS free. The new wells will be constructed next year.
The city stresses that the finished water delivered to homes meets the PFOS standards of 4 ppt or lower. The finished water exceeds the standards of 4 ppt for PFOA, another forever chemical.
It remains at 5.9 ppt in finished water, unchanged from 2025 sampling. But the city’s efforts had already cut in half the level of that chemical in the water.
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