North Whidbey Home Gets Navy Water Hook-Up After PFAS Found in Well

A home south of Ault Field on North Whidbey Island is being hooked to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island's waterline after PFAS contamination was detected in its private drinking well last December, with the Navy classifying the response as a time-critical removal action to speed up the fix.

NAVFAC Northwest's Public Affairs Office described the detected levels as "barely" exceeding Department of Defense interim action levels. Despite the narrow exceedance, the Navy moved quickly: earlier this month it posted a public notice initiating the time-critical designation, which allows work to begin without the six months of planning required for standard removal actions. NAVFAC has said time-critical classification is specifically encouraged when drinking water is at stake.

A memorandum signed by Capt. Nathan Gammache, the base's commanding officer and dated Feb. 20, spells out the scope of work. The project calls for roughly 550 linear feet of new piping along with water supply pumping improvements to connect the home to the Navy's existing waterline. The estimated cost is $270,000.

While that connection is being built out, a point-of-entry treatment system will be installed at the home to filter PFAS compounds from the groundwater supply. NAVFAC expects the treatment system to be operational by this summer. Once the waterline hook-up is complete, the home will remain tied to Navy water until a public water system becomes available in the area. The property owner plans to retain the private well for non-potable uses such as irrigation.

The contamination traces back to decades of aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF, used for firefighting training and emergency response at Ault Field, Outlying Landing Field Coupeville, and the Seaplane Base. The Navy has been conducting testing and remediation in the area since 2016. Prior actions include connecting five homes and a mobile home park to the City of Oak Harbor's water supply in 2020 and adding treatment to Coupeville's municipal supply in 2018. Most recently, in 2024, one home and one business were connected to Oak Harbor's water system and two homes were tied to new, deeper drinking water wells.

A March 31, 2025 memorandum from the NAS Whidbey Island commanding officer to NAVFAC Northwest identified six remaining private drinking water wells, serving 24 homes, with PFAS concentrations at or above DoD interim action levels. Those wells supply residences designated as Ault Field Residences K, L, M1 through M8, and O1 through O4; Area 6 Residences N1 through N9; and Coupeville Residence 12.

Community watchdogs have argued the Navy's sampling boundaries have left some contaminated wells undetected. One documented case involved a well serving nine Oak Harbor-area homes that an owner independently tested after falling outside the Navy's Phase 1 investigation zone. Her results showed PFAS at levels reportedly triple the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's minimum risk level. Because the concentrations did not meet the Navy's own action threshold, the family was left to purchase under-sink filters and bottled water without Navy assistance. Subsequent Navy sampling in that area turned up additional contaminated wells, at least one exceeding EPA health advisory limits, which did trigger an alternative water supply response.

Separately, a public water system northeast of the Navy's Outlying Field was found to contain nine PFAS compounds totaling more than 250 parts per trillion, with PFOA levels exceeding both the previous and current EPA health advisories as well as Washington State action levels for PFOS.

Naval officials told reporters their top priority is identifying contaminated drinking wells, that bottled water is being provided to some island residents, and that transitioning homes to city waterlines is ongoing. Officials described it as "premature" to set a cleanup start date.

Residents who want their well tested can call the Navy's dedicated hotline at 1-844-WHI-PFAS for free testing and assistance.