Editor's Note: The above video is a report from Feb. 2019 on Airway Heights being selected for PFOS and PFOA testing.
AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. - The United States Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the City of Spokane $3.03 million to build a new water reservoir to serve Airway Heights after the 2017 discovery of harmful chemicals in its wells.
According to the EPA, the money is for a new 4.5-million gallon reservoir to serve Airway Heights after perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were found in wells in May 2017.
The harmful chemicals were also found in an increasing number of wells, causing them to stop being used.
The EPA announced the award as part of a $27.6 million grant for water infrastructure projects in Washington.
In February, it was announced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would test Airway Heights residents for harmful chemicals due to its proximity to Fairchild Air Force Base. The study asked randomly selected people to participate in exposure tests.
Tests done in May 2017 showed that Airway Heights' domestic water supply had been impacted by PFOS and PFOA, according to Airway Heights City Manager Albert Tripp.
PFOS and PFOA are found in fire-extinguishing foam among other materials and are thought to have seeped into groundwater from a fire training site at Fairchild Air Force Base.
Currently, Airway Heights water is supplied by the City of Spokane, so residents are not being exposed to the chemicals.
In Nov. 2018, three Airway Heights and Medical Lake land owners sued the U.S. government, the Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force over the contamination.