Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID CNMI_2023_KIM_2

PFOS trend monitoring in Saipan production wells

Institute: Guam
Year Established: 2023 Start Date: 2023-09-01 End Date: 2024-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $44,335 Total Non-Federal Funds: Not available

Principal Investigators: Yong Sang Kim

Project Summary: Saipan is the largest island in the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI), with an estimated total population of 43,000. More than 50% of its 140 production wells are located near Saipan International Airport (SIA), including the Airport Rescue Firefighting Facility (ARFF). Production well IF-208 in the SIA shows Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) 100 times higher than the US EPA's lifetime health advisory concentration (70 ng/L). The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (CUC) has stopped using well IF-208, but adjacent wells have significant and variable concentrations. This proposed work will continue ongoing work begun in 2019 to more precisely document the incidence, characterize the migration patterns and determine the processes driving migration. The results will provide the basis for eventually determining appropriate management and remediation approaches.