by Lisa Schauer
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP), West Virginia Rivers Coalition and Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services will hold a public meeting on Thursday, October 2 from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Country Inn in Berkeley Springs about water quality in the Eastern Panhandle, particularly about the presence of “forever chemicals”.
Light refreshments will be served.
The public meeting is one of a series and are required under the PFAS Protection Act, passed in 2023. Their purpose is to identify potential sources of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in public drinking water.
PFAS are known as forever chemicals. Widely used in stain-resistant, waterproof, and non-stick products, they persist in the environment. Exposure to some PFAS may lead to negative health outcomes.
Community feedback will help guide development of PFAS action plans for affected water systems.
According to WVDEP, PFAS have been detected in multiple Eastern Panhandle public water systems, including Berkeley Springs, Charles Town, Harpers Ferry, Kearneysville, Martinsburg, and Summit Point.
The public meetings will provide residents with information about PFAS, answer questions, and gather input to help identify potential sources.
Environmental organizations are seeking to identify and address PFAS sources in raw-water supplies, and strengthen reporting requirements for certain facilities.
Berkeley Springs officials have said the presence of PFAS in local water is so small as to be non-detectable.
Berkeley Springs water
In a statement, Town of Bath Mayor Greg Schene and Berkeley Springs Water Works shared results of the most recent PFAS testing, conducted on December 17, 2024.
Their data shows all analyzed PFAS were deemed non-detectable, meaning virtually no measurable PFAS were found.
The results are well below the federal limit of four parts per trillion.
“Berkeley Springs water has long been celebrated for its exceptional purity and quality. In 2024, the town received a silver medal at the International Water Tasting competition, confirming what residents have known for generations: Berkeley Springs water is among the best in the world,” said Schene.
“The Town of Bath is dedicated to regular testing, full transparency, and proactive water management, ensuring that Berkeley Springs remains a place known for some of the purest, highest-quality water in the world,” he stated.
The Berkeley Springs Water Works annual drinking water quality report published on June 18, 2025 in this paper does not include any reporting levels for PFAS chemicals.