The Catalan Water Agency (ACA) has published the “Guia de gestió i tractament dels PFAS en l’aigua d’abastament”, a technical document coordinated by ICRA-CERCA aimed at supporting water supply managers in the prevention, monitoring and management of contamination caused by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of compounds known for their high environmental persistence.

The guide was developed through the collaboration of a broad group of experts and organisations from the water, research and innovation sectors. From ICRA-CERCA, the contributors included Wolfgang Gernjak, Oriol Gutiérrez, Pau Giménez-Grau, Mira Petrovic, Jelena Radjenovic and Nick Duinslaeger. The document also benefited from contributions from Aigües de Barcelona, Eurecat, IDAEA-CSIC, Aigües Ter-Llobregat, Canal de Isabel II, Aigües de Manresa, the Consorci d’Aigües de Tarragona, the University of Girona, Transparenta, DuPont and the Barcelona Provincial Council. This multidisciplinary collaboration made it possible to combine scientific knowledge, operational experience and technical expertise to produce a practical guide tailored to the current challenges of PFAS management in drinking water supplies.

The guide covers topics such as sources of contamination, the current regulatory framework, monitoring strategies and the main treatment technologies currently available, including activated carbon, ion-exchange resins and membrane processes. It also presents several practical scenarios to support decision-making in small and medium-sized water supply systems.

This publication contributes to transferring scientific and technical knowledge to the water sector and serves as a key reference tool for preventing contamination, protecting public health and adapting to new regulatory requirements related to PFAS.