Dec. 5, 2025

Dear URI Faculty, Staff, and Students:

The Rhode Island PFAS in Drinking Water, Groundwater, and Surface Waters Act from 2022 and amended in 2023 requires public water systems in Rhode Island to regularly sample for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The new law set an interim standard for PFAS in drinking water of 20 parts per trillion for a total of six PFAS chemicals.

Our most recent testing indicated no detectable presence of PFAS in our campus drinking water.

The University has embarked on an aggressive strategy to eliminate PFAS from the campus drinking water supply. This effort prioritizes community health and complies with new State of Rhode Island legislation regarding drinking water standards related to PFAS.

In October 2024, we achieved a major milestone in our efforts to remove PFAS from our water supply. The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) approved the activation of phase one of our new drinking water PFAS filtration system. The new system removes PFAS to levels significantly below the new legislatively mandated threshold. According to RIDOH, our new filtration system is the first municipal-level PFAS filtration system in the state of Rhode Island.

We continue to test the campus drinking water regularly. We will continue to share quarterly updates regarding ongoing PFAS monitoring, and our water quality reports are available at uri.edu/facilities/utilities/. The testing results are listed in the Dec. 5, 2025, public notice available at uri.edu/pfas-information/public-notices/.