Twin Falls Airport Installs PFAS-Reducing Filters After Well Sample Tests Above Federal Limits, Idaho News 6 Reports
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Magic Valley Regional Airport in Twin Falls, Idaho, has installed PFAS-reducing water filters at drinking-water sources in its terminal after a sample from the airport’s well tested above federal limits for two “forever chemicals,” Idaho News 6 (KIVI) reported on October 16, 2026. The City of Twin Falls announced the new filters in a Friday, Oct. 16, news release, KTVB reported.
A water sample collected Aug. 26 found perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) at 9.83 parts per trillion and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) at 5.35 parts per trillion, according to the airport’s consumer notice, KTVB reported; KMVT reported the same figures from a City of Twin Falls release. The federal drinking water limit for each of the two chemicals is 4.0 parts per trillion, according to the U.S. EPA.
What the airport reported
- Filters where people drink. “The immediate steps were to identify the sources where people would consume water at the terminal building, which was the restaurant and our drinking fountains in the waiting area, and we installed PFAS and PFOA reducing water filters on those sources,” airport manager Matt Barnes told Idaho News 6. In the Happy Landing Restaurant, Barnes said, there are filters on the ice machine, the coffee machine and other sinks the restaurant uses for food and drinks it serves.
- Source not identified. “As far as the actual source, that’s not known,” Barnes said, according to Idaho News 6.
- City water not affected. Airport officials said the results apply only to the airport’s drinking water well and are not related to the City of Twin Falls municipal water system, KTVB reported.
- Interim steps. As a temporary measure, officials provided bottled water and told travelers not to drink the water, KTVB reported. Airport water users may want to use bottled water or a PFAS-reducing filter when making food, drinking or brushing their teeth, and boiling the water will not lower PFAS levels, KMVT reported; the airport’s consumer notice was distributed Sept. 22.
- A new well. The airport is exploring new well locations with lower PFAS concentrations, and a test well is underway near the airport entrance, Idaho News 6 reported.
What the federal rule says
Under EPA’s April 2024 drinking water rule, public water systems must complete initial PFAS monitoring by 2027 and have until 2029 to implement solutions if their levels exceed the limits; compliance is determined by running annual averages at the sampling point, according to the EPA. A single well sample above a federal limit does not, by itself, establish a regulatory violation, KMVT reported. Airport officials said they released the information even though initial PFAS monitoring is not required until April 2027 and compliance is not required until April 2029, according to KTVB.
EPA also says that on May 18, 2026, it proposed giving drinking water systems an option to request two additional years, to 2031, to comply with the PFOA and PFOS limits. That rule is proposed, not final.
PFAS, nanoplastics and microplastics
WaterVO™ News follows PFAS alongside nanoplastics and microplastics. They are separate topics; this story is about PFAS in one airport well in Idaho.
Sources
- Lorien Nettleton, “Twin Falls airport installs water filters after PFAS chemicals found above federal limits,” Idaho News 6 (KIVI), October 16, 2026: kivitv.com
- Richard Rodriguez, “Magic Valley Airport installs new water filters to address ‘forever chemicals’ detected in drinking water,” KTVB, October 16, 2026: ktvb.com
- Jennifer Williams, “Magic Valley Regional Airport well water tests above federal limits for ‘forever chemicals,’” KMVT, September 29, 2026: kmvt.com
- U.S. EPA, “Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)” (April 10, 2024 final rule; May 18, 2026 proposed rules): epa.gov
Photo: The I.B. Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls, Idaho, by Jbindy2 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0); cropped, headline added in the featured image. Illustrative Twin Falls landmark; not the airport or its well.
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