Texas PFAS Contamination Map: Hotspots and Risk Zones (2026)
Texas PFAS contamination is concentrated near military bases, airports, and industrial sites. Here's the map of documented hotspots and risk zones.
Texas PFAS contamination isn't evenly distributed. It clusters around a predictable set of sources: military bases with historical AFFF fire training, major airports, chrome plating operations, and a handful of legacy industrial sites. If you pull drinking water from a private well in one of those zones, you're in a substantially different risk category than a well owner 50 miles away.
Here's a regional breakdown of documented texas pfas hotspots, which aquifers carry the highest known contamination, and what well owners inside risk zones should do next.
Confirmed Texas PFAS Hotspots
These sites have confirmed PFAS detections in groundwater or drinking water supplies:
- Carswell Joint Reserve Base (Fort Worth) — AFFF use dating to the 1970s; PFAS detections in private wells up to 5 miles downgradient.
- Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base (Houston) — confirmed groundwater plume; impacts extend into southeast Harris County.
- Sheppard Air Force Base (Wichita Falls) — documented PFAS in monitoring wells; ongoing investigation.
- Dyess Air Force Base (Abilene) — PFAS detected in groundwater and on-base drinking water.
- Fort Cavazos (Killeen — formerly Fort Hood) — large installation with historical AFFF use.
- Lackland Air Force Base (San Antonio) — detected in groundwater; Edwards Aquifer recharge zone concerns.
- Laughlin Air Force Base (Del Rio) — documented detections near AFFF training areas.
- Randolph Air Force Base (Universal City) — confirmed groundwater contamination.
- Goodfellow Air Force Base (San Angelo) — PFAS in monitoring wells.
Industrial and Airport pfas military base texas Sites
- Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Houston George Bush Intercontinental — AFFF training areas
- Former Teflon-related manufacturing facilities in Beaumont/Port Arthur industrial corridor
- Chrome plating operations across Houston, Dallas, and Harlingen industrial zones
- Several paper and pulp mills across East Texas
Aquifer-Level Risk
Gulf Coast Aquifer wells near Houston industrial corridors and Galveston Bay show the highest confirmed tx forever chemicals water detections in the state. Edwards Aquifer wells near Lackland and Randolph in Bexar County present a particular concern because karst limestone moves contaminants quickly. Ogallala wells near Dyess and Sheppard have documented detections in municipal supplies.
Outside these zones, baseline PFAS detection rates across most Texas aquifers are low — though "low" still means measurable in some wells, which is why testing remains the only way to know your specific situation.
What to Do If You're in a Risk Zone
- Test once, now. A single baseline PFAS test costs $200–$400. See our Texas PFAS well water test guide.
- Compare results to EPA 2024 limits. PFOA and PFOS have 4 ppt enforceable limits. Any detection at that level calls for treatment.
- Install RO or GAC filtration if detection exceeds limits or you want precautionary protection.
- Monitor state and federal investigations. The AFFF class actions and military remediation programs are actively expanding testing coverage — your area may qualify for free testing.
What Won't Help
- Boiling water does not remove PFAS — it concentrates it slightly.
- Standard carbon pitcher filters remove some but not all PFAS compounds reliably.
- Water softeners don't remove PFAS at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
How bad is Texas PFAS contamination compared to other states?
Worse than many southern states but less severe than Michigan, Pennsylvania, or New Jersey. Concentrated risk rather than widespread low-level contamination.
Will Texas require PFAS testing for private wells?
No state mandate as of 2026. EPA rules apply only to public water systems. Private well testing remains voluntary — and entirely the homeowner's responsibility.
Are Texas water utilities treating for PFAS?
Some are, especially those with documented contamination. EPA 2024 rule compliance deadlines run through 2029. Private well owners cannot rely on utility treatment.
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