Lesson plan Grade 8 Social Studies & Civics
PFAS in Deerhurst's Wells: A Grade 8 Local Government Lesson
A grade 8 civics lesson where students role-play a town council deciding how to respond after PFAS is found in the wells, weighing a federal rule still in motion.
Objectives
- Students will explain how a federal drinking-water regulation is carried out by state agencies and local water systems.
- Students will weigh three options a town council could take when a contaminant is found, comparing costs and benefits for different residents.
Vocabulary
- 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.
Also: regulation, compliance deadline, public hearing, tradeoff
Teacher overview
The fictional town of Deerhurst has just learned that two of its drinking-water wells contain two PFAS chemicals, PFOA and PFOS, at levels above the federal limit of 4.0 parts per trillion for each. PFAS are a family of long-lasting chemicals. The federal rule that sets that limit is still in motion: it was finalized in 2024 with a compliance deadline of April 2029, and in May 2026 the EPA proposed letting eligible water systems apply for a two-year exemption, to April 2031. That proposal would not change the 4.0 limits, and it was not final as of September 2026. This lesson puts students on the Deerhurst town council, where they must decide what to do about a problem that a federal agency, a state agency, and their own utility all have a hand in solving. A national rule does not fix a local problem by itself; someone still has to pay for and build the response, and reasonable people disagree about how to do it.
Procedure
Hook (5 min): Project a short scenario: a Deerhurst resident opens a letter from the water utility saying two wells are being shut off because of PFAS. Ask students to write one question they would want answered before the next town meeting. Take three or four aloud without answering them yet.
Framing the rule (10 min): Explain the chain of authority in plain terms. The EPA sets national maximum contaminant levels for specific PFAS chemicals, including PFOA and PFOS. State agencies enforce it and help fund fixes. The local utility must test its water, notify the public, and bring the water into compliance by a deadline. Emphasize that the compliance date is April 2029 and that the EPA's 2026 proposal would let eligible systems apply for two more years rather than move the deadline for everyone, so Deerhurst cannot assume it will get extra time. Define contaminant, regulation, and compliance deadline as you go.
Reading the options brief (10 min): Distribute the options brief. It lays out three realistic paths for Deerhurst: (A) install a granular activated carbon treatment system on the affected wells, which is effective but expensive and raises bills; (B) buy treated water from a neighboring city through a new connection, which is faster but creates a long-term dependence; or (C) blend and monitor while applying for state grant money, which delays the largest costs but leaves some uncertainty. Groups read silently, then underline the strongest cost and the strongest benefit of each option.
Council deliberation (15 min): Assign each group of five a council role card: two members lean toward protecting public health at any cost, two lean toward protecting ratepayers from steep bills, and one is the mayor, who must move the group toward a decision. Groups debate the three options and must reach a recommendation, naming which residents gain and which pay under their choice. Circulate and push any group that has not named a tradeoff.
Vote and debrief (7 min): Each group reports its recommendation and its single most important reason in one sentence. Tally the votes on the board. Ask the class why groups with the same facts still reached different recommendations. Name the reason directly: the facts set the boundaries of what Deerhurst can do, and each group's values decided which choice it made within them.
Exit ticket (3 min): Students answer on an index card: "Deerhurst got its PFAS limit from a federal rule. Name one thing the federal government did and one thing the town still had to decide for itself." Collect as a formative check; look for a clear split between the national standard and the local response.
Student Handout
Deerhurst options brief (fictional town). Two of Deerhurst's wells have tested above the federal limits for PFOA and PFOS, and the utility has shut them off. The town's other wells can meet everyday demand for now but leave little reserve for dry summers or emergencies. The council must choose one of the following options.
Option A: Install granular activated carbon treatment. The utility would build a treatment system at the affected wells. Water passes through tanks of activated carbon, which trap PFAS chemicals before the water enters the pipes. This approach is proven to lower PFAS to below the federal limits, and the town would keep control of its own water supply. The main cost is money: the system is expensive to build, and the carbon must be replaced on a regular schedule. Water bills would rise to pay for it. Designing and building the system would take a few years.
Option B: Buy treated water from a neighboring city. Deerhurst would build a new pipe connection to the neighboring city's system and buy water to replace what the closed wells supplied. This is the fastest way to restore a full supply, because the connection is simpler to build than a treatment plant. The main cost is long-term dependence: Deerhurst would pay whatever price the neighboring city sets in future contracts, and the council would have less say over its own water.
Option C: Blend and monitor while seeking state grants. The utility would mix small amounts of water from the affected wells with water from the clean wells so that the combined water stays below the federal limits, and it would test the blended water often. Meanwhile, the town would apply for state grant money to help pay for a permanent fix later. This delays the largest costs and could lower what residents eventually pay. The main cost is uncertainty: the town might not win a grant, blending leaves less room for error if PFAS levels change, and the compliance deadline could arrive before a permanent fix is in place.
From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.
Answer Key
Exit ticket sample response: The federal government (through the EPA) set legal limits for PFAS chemicals such as PFOA and PFOS in drinking water and required the utility to test and notify the public. The town of Deerhurst still had to decide how to bring its wells into compliance, which treatment or supply option to fund, and how to share the cost among residents. Accept any answer that separates the national standard from the local choice about money, timing, and who pays.
Council deliberation check: A complete group recommendation names one option (A, B, or C), states its main benefit, and identifies at least one group of residents who would carry the cost, such as ratepayers facing higher bills or families near the affected wells.
Differentiation
Support
Give these students a completed comparison table for the three options, with the strongest cost and benefit already filled in, so their group work focuses on judgment rather than on locating the information. Provide a sentence frame for the recommendation: "Deerhurst should choose option ___ because ___, even though ___ would pay more."
Extension
Ask students to add a fourth option the brief did not include, such as suing the manufacturers who made the PFAS, and to explain where the money and the risk would fall under their new option compared with the original three.
ELL supports
Pre-teach contaminant, regulation, compliance deadline, and tradeoff with a simple picture card for each. Allow the exit ticket to be answered in two labeled columns, "federal government did" and "town decided," rather than in full sentences.
Extensions
Invite a representative from your local water utility or health department to describe how their system tests for emerging contaminants and how they would notify the public if a limit were exceeded. Students can prepare three interview questions drawn from the council debate, connecting the Deerhurst scenario to the real agencies that serve their own community.