New important research from the University of Adelaide (1,2) and reported by Channel Seven on April 12, 2026 (3) highlight fertility issues concerning trace levels of PFAS found in Adelaide’s tap water. This research found that “The results showed exposure to PFAS chemicals, even in trace amounts, disrupts female fertility, causing cellular damage to ovulated eggs and embryos”. (2) The researchers however failed to question how the PFAS ended up in Adelaide tap water?
The PFAS in Adelaide drinking water in the new report contradicts all previous SA Water PFAS raw water test results which have found no PFAS chemicals in the SA drinking water system. SA Water state on their website in regards to where PFAS testing has been conducted at 16 locations: "There were no ‘detectable PFAS levels within any of the above sources.”
The key issue regarding 'negative' SA Water tests appears to be that SA Water tests are limited to PFAS levels only as low as 0.002μg/L parts per billion (2ng/L parts per trillion).
The results from testing of Adelaide’s CBD tap water (refer to table below) by the University of Adelaide study (1,2) and reported by Channel 7 (3) detected trace levels of: PFOS at four Adelaide CBD locations between 1-1.4 ng/L, PFHxS at 4 CBD locations between 1-1.2 ng/L, PFOA at 3 CBD locations between 0.5-1.1 ng/L, PFBS at 4 CBD locations between 0.4-0.9 ng/l, PFHxA at 2 CBD locations between 0.4-0.7 ng/L tested and PFBS detected at 4 CBD locations between 0.4-0.9 ng/L. Also, PFASs were detected from 100 % of the 4 samples taken from a water fountain located in an unspecified Adelaide CBD building. PFAS chemicals were also found at four residential locations in suburban Adelaide.
The level of PFAS detections found by the University of Adelaide in tap water were all below the 2ng/L limit of reporting used by SA Water in raw water. This could indicate that the current PFAS testing methods employed by SA Water are not sufficiently low enough to detect the actual PFAS trace levels that may be, present in their reservoir raw water.
SA Water’s present PFAS testing of drinking water is restricted to raw water. They currently do not test for PFAS at the outlet of their drinking water filtration plants or the customer’s tap water. The results of the Adelaide University Study indicate that SA Water as a matter of urgency should also be conducting non-targeted testing for trace level of PFAS in Adelaide’s customers tap water including reducing its present detection levels of PFASs measured in Adelaide’s reservoirs raw water to below <2 ng/L.
PFAS occurrence in Australian drinking water remains understudied as the recent University of Adelaide study is only the third that has conducted PFAS testing of Adelaide’s tap water.
The first testing was done in 2010 and published by Thompson (4) The results from this study showed high levels of PFOS in Glenunga drinking water which would have breached the current Australian drinking water Guideline levels for PFOS of 8 ng/L.
A second study (5) published in 2024 tested for ultra short chain PFASs in major Australian cities (including Adelaide) in tap water. The study identified 13 new ultra short PFASs including Perfluoropropanesulfonic acid (PFPrS) which was found to be the most prevalent PFAS detected (67%) in tap water samples.
“These findings highlight the widespread presence of ultrashort-chain PFASs in Australian water systems and underscore the need for ongoing monitoring and PFASs research due to their potential ecological and human health impacts” (5).
Another important study (6,7) was published in 2025 by the University of NSW in regards to Sydney’s tap water. Of the 50 PFASs monitored, researchers identified 21 new PFASs out of total 31 compared to previous studies done in Australia.
”This study highlights the need for the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of a wide range of PFAS in drinking water supplies to aid understanding into the levels of PFAS consumed by the Australian population”... (6), (7).
It is also important to note that even extremely low levels of PFAS chemicals, lower than what SA Water currently test for, can accumulate and be remobilised within water pipes and infrastructure post treatment. “The differences in PFAS detected in different drinking water catchment areas of the Sydney could potentially be attributed to the branch-structured drinking water distribution system of Sydney's water infrastructure. When loose deposits are present in pipes, such as sediment, mineral buildup or rust, PFAS can accumulate on these deposits, and the subsequent release of these PFAS can change the profile of PFAS detected from the same drinking water source ( Chen et al., 2019c, 2021 ).” (5)
Sydney Water have recorded over 1400 PFAS detections in raw water over 2024/26. The vast majority (80%) of all their PFOS, PFHxS, PFOA and PFBS detections are less than 2ng/L, with three locations (25% of all locations) recording all of the detections above 2ng/L. All of the 189 detections in major reservoirs were below 2ng/L.
These results were achieved by Sydney Water by implementing a more rigorous PFAS testing regime in 2024. Sydney Water now test PFASs at almost a dozen locations. For PFOA, PFHxS and PFOS, Sydney Water are testing as low as <0.1ng/L – twenty times lower than what SA Water are testing for. Water NSW are also testing for PFAS chemicals well below what SA Water are testing for. Likewise, for SEQ Water in Southern Queensland and a number of other water authorities including local government in Queensland and New South Wales.
SA Water have tested for PFASs at three locations on the Murray River, with a test limit of 2ng/L. All results have been negative. Yet Lower Murray Water, a Victorian water authority responsible for drinking water along a large section of the Murray River in Victoria (eg Mildura) has detected PFAS chemicals in raw water at all of the eight communities that they are responsible for. All 23 positive detections for PFASs by Lower Murray Water were below 2ng/L with average levels between 0.5 and 1ng/L. The Murray River provides about 50% of Adelaide's drinking water.
Sydney water has shown that SA Water should:
- Implement a program of stringent testing to less than 0.1ng/L for PFASs at both the outlets of their drinking water treatment plants and the customers tap water.
- Make changes to their present level of detection for PFAS tests in reservoir raw water by introducing a more stringent PFAS testing to less than 0.1ng/L.
A non-targeted survey of all waterways is also urgently required in both metropolitan and County Regions of South Australia for PFAS chemicals and it is strange that South Australia have not done so because PFASs are often considered to be widely distributed throughout the environment. As a result, all Australian States (including Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania, Western Australia and Victoria) have carried out an assessment of water bodies with respect to known potential PFAS impact.
To assess the extent of PFAS waterway contamination in South Australia the State should implement ambient PFAS investigation programs, similar to that conducted by the WA Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) (8,9) by sampling SA waterways: rivers, estuaries, catchments and groundwater in metropolitan and regional country areas.
This measure is necessary as it is now recognised that waterways are critical infrastructure and are increasingly being put at risk from PFAS pollution with a potential of human /ecosystem exposure to PFASs.
The findings from this investigation as to the extent/number of detectable PFASs in rivers, streams and estuaries across the South Australia would enable the State to take the necessary action to better protect our waterways from these contaminates.
References
(1) Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in trace levels via drinking water diminishes mouse embryo mitochondria function across three generations
(2) Chemicals found in tap water could harm embryos
(3) Couples urged to filter tap water as pfas chemicals found to harm fertility
(4) Concentrations of PFOS, PFOA and other perfluorinated alkyl acids in Australian drinking water.
(5) Occurrence of Ultrashort-Chain PFASs in Australian Environmental Water Samples
(6) Assessment of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances in Sydney drinking water
(7) 21 new PFAS chemicals identified in Sydney tap water via sensitive testing methods
(8) Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the Perth metropolitan area, Ambient concentrations in surface water and groundwater 11-2022 DWER
(9) Ambient concentrations of Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in rivers and estuaries of south-west Western Australia 3-2026 DWER