What counts as a PFAS source in Connecticut?

The best-documented PFAS sources are places where PFAS was used or concentrated: AFFF (aqueous film-forming foam) firefighting sites (airports, military installations, and fire-training areas) and landfills, where consumer products containing PFAS accumulate. Connecticut has roughly 346 such documented sources on record. A source is an origin point, not a measurement; whether PFAS from it reached any given water supply is a separate question answered only by testing.

If there's a PFAS source near me, is my water contaminated?

Not necessarily. A documented source means PFAS was present at that location, but whether it reached your water depends on distance, groundwater flow, soil, and time. Public water systems are now tested for PFAS under federal and state rules, so if you're on public water your utility's results, not the source map, tell you your exposure. If you're on a private well near a documented AFFF site or landfill, testing for PFAS is worthwhile because no one tests private wells for you.

Where can I find what PFAS actually does and where it's been measured?

This post is deliberately limited to the source inventory. For the health effects of PFAS, the towns where PFAS has actually been measured in Connecticut drinking water, and what to do about it, see our dedicated PFAS coverage, including the Connecticut PFAS guide, the towns-with-the-most-PFAS analysis, and the military AFFF plume investigations, all linked below.

CT PFAS Sources vs Detections: Two Different Maps

There are two different PFAS maps for Connecticut, and confusing them is the most common PFAS mistake. One shows where PFAS comes from. The other shows where it's actually been measured. This post is the first map, plus a caution about reading it as the second.

● Key Takeaways

A PFAS source is an AFFF firefighting-foam site (airports, military, fire-training) or a landfill. It's a reason to look, not a measurement of your water. Connecticut has about 346 documented sources. The source map is not the detection map: whether PFAS reached any given supply depends on distance, groundwater flow, and time. On public water, your utility's PFAS results (now required) tell you your exposure. On a private well near a documented source, testing is worthwhile because no one tests wells for you. This post is the source inventory only. Health effects and measured detections are in our linked PFAS coverage.

Two Maps, Not One

PFAS, the "forever chemicals," are unusual in how mobile and persistent they are, which makes people understandably anxious about anything nearby. But the single most useful thing you can do with PFAS information is keep two ideas separate:

The source map: documented places where PFAS originated or concentrated. In Connecticut, that's primarily AFFF (aqueous film-forming foam) sites (airports, military installations, and fire-training areas where PFAS-containing foam was used) and landfills, where PFAS-laden consumer products accumulate.
The detection map: places where PFAS has actually been measured in water, at a known concentration.

A source is an origin point. A detection is a measurement. They are related, but they are not the same map, and they do not line up one-to-one. A source can sit near water that tests clean, and PFAS can appear where the source is distant or diffuse.

Connecticut's Source Inventory

Connecticut has roughly 346 documented PFAS sources on record, predominantly landfills, plus a smaller set of AFFF firefighting sites. By town, the largest documented counts fall in:

Town	Documented PFAS sources (AFFF + landfill)
New Haven	9
Westport	9
Stratford	9
Stamford	7
Waterbury	7
Newtown	6

These counts reflect industrial history, airports, and fire-training sites, not measured contamination. A town at the top of this list is a town with more documented origins, which is a reason to look, not a verdict. Some of Connecticut's most consequential PFAS stories aren't about counts at all. They're about specific sites: the military AFFF plumes around Groton and New London, for instance, or a single industrial source in New Milford.

What This Post Deliberately Doesn't Cover

We're keeping this one narrow on purpose. What PFAS does to health, where it's been measured in Connecticut drinking water, the new federal limits, what filters actually remove it: all of that is covered in depth elsewhere, and duplicating it here would only blur the source-versus-detection line this post exists to draw. Start with these:

How To Use the Source Map

If you're on public water, PFAS is now monitored under federal and state rules. Your utility's actual results, not the source map, tell you your exposure. If you're on a private well near a documented AFFF site or landfill, testing for PFAS is worthwhile, because no agency tests private wells for you and PFAS is exactly the kind of persistent, mobile contaminant proximity-based testing is designed to catch.

Reading this inside ChatGPT or Claude?

This page can tell you the general science, but not what is actually in PFAS sources and testing near a Connecticut address. That depends on your exact address. You can get your specific answer two ways:

Inside the chat: ask your assistant to “check my tap water with CheckYourTap”. Our connector returns your ZIP code’s measured contaminant levels, including the derived dog and cat safe levels, and, only if you ask it to, can email you the report or arrange a specialist callback.
On the web: open CheckYourTap.com and enter your ZIP code for a free 30-second report.

Keep Reading

Sources: Connecticut and U.S. EPA PFAS source datasets (AFFF sites and landfills, via CT DEEP and EPA PFAS Analytic Tools); U.S. EPA, PFAS; Connecticut Department of Public Health, PFAS. Source counts are documented origins, not measurements of drinking-water quality; a nearby source is a reason to test, not evidence a specific supply is affected.

Where Connecticut's PFAS Sources Are vs. Where PFAS Is Actually Measured