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Okinawa Town Denies Water Request Over High PFAS Levels

10/29/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Chatan town in Okinawa cannot provide an additional 181,412 cubic yards of water annually to Camp Lester Marine Corps base due to high PFAS levels in its storage tank.
The U.S. military's request follows PFAS detection exceeding the EPA's limit of 4 parts per trillion.
Chatan currently supplies 65,920 cubic yards of water but cannot increase this amount until 2028 to avoid disrupting the existing system.
The Department of Defense will implement a new PFAS limit of 70 parts per trillion at overseas installations starting April 2029.
U.S. Forces Japan declined to comment due to a federal government shutdown.

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Story summary

Chatan town in Okinawa cannot provide an additional 181,412 cubic yards of water annually to Camp Lester Marine Corps base due to high PFAS levels in its storage tank.
The U.S. military's request follows PFAS detection exceeding the EPA's limit of 4 parts per trillion.
Chatan currently supplies 65,920 cubic yards of water but cannot increase this amount until 2028 to avoid disrupting the existing system.
The Department of Defense will implement a new PFAS limit of 70 parts per trillion at overseas installations starting April 2029.
U.S. Forces Japan declined to comment due to a federal government shutdown.