Sustainable pathways for PFAS management in an urban “One Water” system

Sustainable pathways for PFAS management in an urban “One Water” system | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Analysis Sustainable pathways for PFAS management in an urban “One Water” system Stanley Grant, Megan Rippy, Shalini Misra, Lauren Krauss, Kristin Rowles, and 12 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9452170/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract New drinking-water regulations for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are forcing utilities operating in interconnected urban “One Water” systems to make strategic choices between short-term compliance measures and more transformative interventions with long-term sustainability benefits. To examine how utilities navigate this trade-off, we worked with practitioners in the Occoquan Reservoir system (USA) to define and evaluate 57 interventions spanning drinking-water treatment, wastewater management and watershed source control. Preferred near-term strategies centered on mature treatment technologies, whereas longer-term options included advanced treatment adoption, source-control measures, regulatory actions, raw-water blending and adaptive treatment operations. The final intervention portfolio distributes action, cost and risk across multiple components of the One Water system, illustrating how regulatory pressure can catalyze sustainable pathways for PFAS management. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences/Sustainability Scientific community and society/Water resources PFAS One Water systems Collaborative governance Co-production Intervention portfolios Drinking water compliance Systems transformation Urban water infrastructure Source control Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Virginia Tech's IRB reviewed the research protocol and determined that "the proposed activity is not research involving human subjects as defined by HHS and FDA regulations." Therefore, consent was not required of participants. Supplementary Files SuppInfo41726.pdf Supplemental Information for "Sustainable pathways for PFAS management in an urban 'One Water'' system Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9452170","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Analysis","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":635032136,"identity":"afc4aa9a-3e80-425c-9cca-2e990fda3c36","order_by":0,"name":"Stanley 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