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Reading passage Grade 6 Science

Testing the Wells of Basswood Hollow for PFAS

A grade 6 reading passage following a fictional town's PFAS well-testing story, showing why nearby wells can test differently and what a federal limit means.

Objectives

  1. Students will identify what PFAS are and why they persist in the environment.
  2. Students will explain why well-testing results can differ between nearby wells.

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.
Contaminant
A contaminant is anything in water that should not be there, whether it is a germ, a chemical, or too much of a natural mineral, that could make the water unsafe or unpleasant to use. Treatment plants are built specifically to find and remove contaminants before water reaches the tap.
Filtration
Filtration is the step where water passes through layers of sand, gravel, or other materials that trap the small particles still left in it. It works like a very fine strainer.

Also: compliance

Teacher overview

This passage follows a fictional rural community, Basswood Hollow, through the process of testing its private wells for PFAS, a group of manufactured chemicals that break down so slowly they are often called "forever chemicals." It gives students a concrete, human-scale story for understanding both what PFAS are and how water testing actually happens, including why results can differ from one well to the next even within the same small community.

Testing the Wells of Basswood Hollow for PFAS — Grade 6 Science
Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Passage

For as long as most people can remember, homes in Basswood Hollow have used private wells. There is no shared town water system. Each family draws its own water from underground. Each family always assumed that water was safe.

That changed after a resident read a newsletter article about PFAS. PFAS are chemicals made by people. Factories have used them for decades in nonstick pans, waterproof cloth, and a type of firefighting foam. PFAS chemicals do not break down easily in the environment. That is why people often call them "forever chemicals." Scientists have linked long-term exposure to some PFAS chemicals with health problems.

Basswood Hollow (a fictional town) sits near an old airfield. Firefighters trained there for years using foam that contained PFAS. At the time, nobody understood the risk. After reading about PFAS, several residents asked the county health department a question: should their well water be tested? The county agreed. It offered free testing to any homeowner who wanted it.

Federal rules set a top legal limit for two common PFAS chemicals, called PFOA and PFOS. That limit is 4.0 parts per trillion each. A part per trillion is a tiny amount, roughly like one drop of water spread across twenty huge swimming pools. That is why PFAS testing has to be so precise.

The results were not the same for every well. One well belongs to a family living closest to the old airfield. It tested at 6.2 parts per trillion, above the federal limit. Another well sits on the far side of town and draws from a different underground layer. It tested at 1.8 parts per trillion, below the limit. A third well tested too low to measure at all.

A hydrogeologist explained why the results were so different. Groundwater does not move like one big underground lake. It flows through separate paths shaped by soil and rock. A contaminant near one well may never reach a well just a few hundred yards away. The family with the highest reading received bottled water right away. The county also gave them information about carbon filters, which can lower PFAS levels a great deal when kept up properly.

Basswood Hollow's story is part of a rule that is still changing. The 4.0 parts-per-trillion limit became federal law in 2024, and water systems must meet it by April 2029. But in May 2026, the EPA proposed letting some water systems apply for two more years, until April 2031. The limit itself would stay the same, and the proposal was not final as of September 2026. Basswood Hollow uses private wells, not a public system covered by that rule, so testing there stays voluntary rather than required. County officials now ask residents to test their wells every year. They are also checking whether nearby industrial sites explain the pattern in the first round of results.

Questions

  1. What are PFAS, and why does the passage call them "forever chemicals"?
  2. According to the passage, what event led residents of Basswood Hollow to first ask about testing their well water?
  3. What is the federal maximum contaminant level for PFOA and PFOS, according to the passage?
  4. The well closest to the old airfield tested above the federal limit, while a well farther away tested below it. Based on the passage, what is one likely reason nearby wells showed such different results?
  5. Why does the passage describe PFAS regulation as a rule that is "still changing" rather than fully settled?
  6. Based on the passage, explain why testing only some of Basswood Hollow's wells, rather than every well at once, still gave the county useful information.
  7. What two things did the county provide to the family whose well tested above the federal limit?

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

Answer Key
  1. Answer: PFAS are manufactured chemicals used in products such as nonstick pans, waterproof fabric, and certain firefighting foam. The passage calls them "forever chemicals" because they resist breaking down in the environment for a very long time.
  2. Answer: A resident read a community newsletter article about PFAS, which prompted several residents to ask the county health department whether their well water should be tested.
  3. Answer: 4.0 parts per trillion each for PFOA and PFOS, the maximum contaminant level the passage states as federal law.
  4. Answer: Answers will vary but should reference that groundwater flows through separate underground paths shaped by soil and rock, so a contaminant near one well may never reach a nearby well, as the hydrogeologist explains in the passage.
  5. Answer: The passage notes that the 4.0 parts-per-trillion limit became law in 2024, with an April 2029 deadline, but in May 2026 the EPA proposed letting some systems apply for two more years, until April 2031. That proposal was not final as of September 2026, showing that important details of the rule, such as when systems must fully comply, are still changing.
  6. Answer: Testing some wells still revealed a real pattern, wells closer to the old airfield testing higher, which gave county officials a reasonable starting point for deciding where to investigate further and who might need help right away, without having to test every well before taking any action.
  7. Answer: The county provided bottled water and information about carbon filtration systems that can reduce PFAS levels.

Differentiation

Support

Provide a simple timeline graphic (Newsletter article → Testing requested → Results differ by well → County response → Ongoing yearly testing) for students to reference while answering the questions, and allow question 4 to be answered orally rather than in writing.

Extension

Ask students to research (using only the passage and teacher-provided facts, not outside sources) what a carbon filtration system is doing at the particle level when it reduces PFAS levels, and to explain why regular filter maintenance matters for keeping that reduction effective.

ELL supports

Pre-teach "PFAS," "contaminant," "filtration," and "compliance" with simple definitions and a labeled diagram of underground water paths reaching different wells. Allow students to answer questions 1, 2, 3, and 7 with short phrases rather than full sentences.