Reading passage Grade 12 Careers & CTE

PFAS Rules and the New Water Treatment Jobs

A grade 12 careers reading passage on how new PFAS drinking water rules are creating treatment, compliance, and lab jobs, with six comprehension questions.

Grade: Grade 12
Subject: Careers & CTE
Material: Reading passage
Time: 35 min
Prep: No prep
Materials: None

Standards

D2.Civ.13.9-12 C3 Framework

Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences.

How this material aligns: The extension asks students to judge whether allowing eligible systems an exemption that moves the PFAS compliance deadline to 2031 is reasonable, weighing the intended health benefit of the limit against the consequence of longer exposure, the intended-outcomes-and-consequences evaluation this indicator targets.

All materials for D2.Civ.13.9-12 →

RST.11-12.7 Common Core ELA

Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

How this material aligns: Questions 1 and 4 require students to combine the passage's regulatory figures with its account of the retirement wave to explain rising demand, integrating quantitative and textual information as this standard requires.

All materials for RST.11-12.7 →

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This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely, without attribution. Updated 2026-07-23.

Objectives

Students will identify what the new PFAS drinking water rule requires and how it is changing.
Students will explain how new regulation and retirements together raise demand for water workers.

Vocabulary

PFAS: A large family of human-made chemicals used in things like nonstick pans, waterproof fabric, and firefighting foam. They are called forever chemicals because they take a very long time to break down.
Maximum contaminant level (MCL): A maximum contaminant level, or MCL, is the highest amount of a certain substance that federal rules allow in drinking water. Water systems test regularly to prove their water stays under each limit.
Granular activated carbon: Small black grains of specially treated carbon that grab contaminants as water flows through them. Utilities use big tanks of it to remove PFAS, bad tastes, and odors.

Also: compliance

Teacher overview

New rules on a family of long-lasting chemicals called PFAS are reshaping how water utilities treat and test their water. That change is also creating jobs. This passage explains the rule, the treatment it drives, and the roles utilities now need to fill, so students can connect a public health policy to the work it creates. It pairs well with a discussion of the many education paths that lead into water careers.

PFAS Rules and the New Water Treatment Jobs — Grade 12 Careers & CTE

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Passage

PFAS is short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a large family of human-made chemicals used for decades in products like nonstick coatings, stain guards, and firefighting foam. They are sometimes called forever chemicals because they break down very slowly and can build up in water, soil, and even the human body. Over the past several years, testing has found PFAS in drinking water supplies across the country, which pushed regulators to act.

In April 2024, the EPA set its first national drinking water limits for these chemicals. The rule set a maximum contaminant level of 4.0 parts per trillion each for two of the most studied PFAS, known as PFOA and PFOS. A part per trillion is an extremely small amount, which reflects how harmful these chemicals can be even at very low levels. The rule also gave water systems several years to test their water, tell the public what they find, and install treatment where levels are too high.

The rule is still in motion. In May 2026, the EPA proposed letting eligible water systems apply for a two-year exemption that would move their compliance deadline from April 2029 to April 2031, giving them more time to plan and build. It would not be an automatic extension for every system, and the 4.0 ppt limits would stay the same. That kind of adjustment is normal for a major new standard, yet the proposal was not yet final as of September 2026, and utilities must plan while the rules keep shifting. Students following this topic should treat PFAS regulation as a policy that is still being written.

Meeting the limit takes real equipment. The three treatment methods utilities use most for PFAS are granular activated carbon, which traps the chemicals on a bed of specially treated carbon; ion exchange, which swaps the chemicals onto a resin; and reverse osmosis, which pushes water through fine membranes. Each of these systems must be run, tested, and maintained by trained people, so adding PFAS treatment to a plant adds work that did not exist there before.

That new work is turning into jobs. Utilities need treatment operators who understand how to run and monitor carbon or membrane systems. They need compliance specialists, whose job is to track the required sampling and file the reports that prove a system meets the rule. They need laboratory technicians who can run the sensitive tests that measure PFAS at these tiny levels. These openings arrive at the same time as a large retirement wave in the water workforce, where roughly one-third of workers can retire within the decade. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects about 10,000 openings each year from 2025 to 2035 for water and wastewater operators specifically, and PFAS work adds to the reasons utilities are hiring.

No single path leads into this work. A treatment operator usually starts with a high school diploma, on-the-job training, and a state license earned by exam. A compliance specialist often holds a certificate or a college degree in environmental science or public health. An engineer who designs the treatment system typically holds a four-year engineering degree, and a lab scientist who improves the tests may hold a graduate degree. The water sector needed skilled people before the PFAS rules, and the rules add one more reason for students to consider it.

Questions

What maximum contaminant level did the EPA set for PFOA and PFOS, and when was the rule issued?
Name two of the three treatment methods the passage says utilities use to remove PFAS.
The passage calls PFAS rules a policy that is still being written. Using details from the passage, explain what that means here.
Explain how the new PFAS rules and the retirement wave together increase the demand for water workers.
According to the passage, what is the job of a compliance specialist?
The passage names several education paths into PFAS-related work. Describe two different paths and the kind of role each one leads to.

From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.

Answer Key

Answer: The EPA set a maximum contaminant level of 4.0 parts per trillion each for PFOA and PFOS, in a rule issued in April 2024, as the passage's second paragraph states.
Answer: Any two of: granular activated carbon, ion exchange, and reverse osmosis, which the passage lists as the three main treatment methods.
Answer: It means the schedule is not final. The passage notes that in May 2026 the EPA proposed letting eligible systems apply for an exemption that moves their compliance deadline from 2029 to 2031, and that proposal is not final, so utilities must plan while the exact rules keep shifting.
Answer: New PFAS rules add treatment and testing work that needs trained staff, while the retirement wave opens many existing roles. Together they raise the number of water jobs utilities must fill, as the passage's fifth paragraph explains.
Answer: A compliance specialist tracks the required sampling and files the reports that prove a water system meets the PFAS rule.
Answer: Accept any two distinct paths from the passage, such as a treatment operator who starts with a diploma, on-the-job training, and a state license, and an engineer who designs the system with a four-year engineering degree, or a lab scientist with a graduate degree.

Differentiation

Support

Provide a labeled list of the three treatment methods with a one-line description of each before students read, and allow questions 1, 2, and 5 to be answered by pointing to the sentence in the passage that gives the answer.

Extension

Ask students to write one paragraph arguing whether allowing eligible systems an exemption that extends the PFAS deadline to 2031 is a reasonable choice, using only the passage, and weighing the benefit of more planning time against the cost of longer exposure to the chemicals.

ELL supports

Pre-teach "PFAS," "maximum contaminant level," "compliance," and "granular activated carbon" with simple definitions and a picture of water passing through a carbon filter. Allow students to answer the literal questions with short phrases and to discuss the inference questions aloud with a partner first.

Extensions

Have students check whether their state has published a PFAS testing map or a list of affected systems, many of which are posted for free online. Locating their own region on such a map connects the national rule in this passage to the water their community actually drinks.