Private Well Contamination from Pre-Regulatory Landfill and Biosolids Application

Swepsonville, PFAS & Legacy Pollution

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Residents in Swepsonville, a small community in Alamance County, are living with dangerously high levels of PFAS in their private drinking water wells. Our testing has found total PFAS levels exceeding 3,500 parts per trillion (ppt) in some wells.

For comparison, the EPA’s maximum contaminant level (MCL) for PFOA and PFOS (two of the most studied and harmful PFAS) is just 4 ppt. Some residents have been drinking water contaminated at levels roughly 875 times higher than federal safety limits.

The two suspected contamination sources sit side by side:

  • a pre-regulatory landfill (built before modern environmental protections) owned by Alamance County

  • a biosolids application field (where treated sewage sludge is spread as fertilizer) owned by the City of Graham.

Haw River Assembly is working with affected families and researchers at Duke University to understand the contamination and advocate for solutions.

Suspected Contamination Sources

Alamance County Pre-Regulatory Landfill

This landfill closed before January 1, 1983, when environmental regulations required protective liners and leachate collection systems (prevented pollution from seeping into groundwater). As a result, the waste was buried directly in the ground with no barrier to surrounding soil and water.

State data shows this landfill has some of the highest PFAS levels of any landfill in North Carolina, with groundwater testing detecting:

  • PFOS at nearly 3,000 times the EPA drinking water limit, and

  • PFOA at more than 1,700 times the limit.

North Carolina has 668 pre-regulatory landfills, many of which pose ongoing risks to groundwater.

City of Graham Biosolids Field

Across the street from the landfill is a field where the City of Graham applied biosolids (treated sewage sludge). PFAS are not removed during wastewater treatment and instead concentrate in the sludge. When biosolids are spread on land, PFAS can leach into soil and groundwater, contaminating nearby wells.

Regional and Local Context: Burlington Biosolids and Hidden “Precursor” PFAS Nanoparticles

Swepsonville’s contamination is part of a broader regional PFAS problem uncovered during our litigation against Burlington with SELC (Southern Environmental Law Center) and Duke University researchers. For decades, the City of Burlington’s wastewater treatment plant received industrial discharges from textile manufacturers with PFAS levels sometimes exceeding 12 million ppt.

Much of this pollution came from PFAS nanoparticle precursors (tiny, previously undetectable chemicals used in stain-resistant and water-resistant fabrics). During wastewater treatment, these particles break down into regulated PFAS, contaminating rivers and downstream drinking water supplies.

Sludge from Burlington’s WWTP (wastewater treatment plant), which was full of these precursors, was spread on agricultural fields across the region. Duke researcher Dr. Lee Ferguson describes these biosolids as “a slow-release pill of PFAS” that can continue leaching contamination for decades.

What This Means for Swepsonville Residents

Families who rely on private wells face unique risks. Unlike public water systems, private wells are unregulated and rarely tested. About 35% of North Carolinians depend on private wells, the second-highest rate in the country.

Even if contamination sources were addressed today, PFAS already in the ground will continue moving through soil and groundwater for decades, especially from biosolids containing precursor chemicals.

Small communities like Swepsonville also lack the financial resources available to wealthier counties for advanced treatment systems, leaving residents to have to manage contamination largely on their own.

Help Available for PFAS Well Contamination in NC:

The Bernard Allen Emergency Drinking Water Fund, administered by NC DEQ, provides financial assistance to private well owners dealing with PFAS contamination. The program can help cover the cost of reverse osmosis (RO) treatment systems or connection to public water where available.

Residents who suspect contamination should contact NC DEQ or have their water tested by a certified laboratory.

Zooming Out: PFAS Regulation at Risk

As communities like Swepsonville are dealing with PFAS contamination, federal oversight may be weakening. In November 2025, the EPA proposed rolling back PFAS reporting requirements for manufacturers and users—a change that would eliminate more than 97% of PFAS data that they would otherwise have to report.

“Our work highlights why it is important to increase, not decrease, PFAS waste discharge reporting requirements for industries.” - Dr. Ferguson from Duke University

Southern Environmental Law Center notes that these exemptions would allow industries to avoid reporting PFAS byproducts, the very heart of what is responsible for the contamination crises across North Carolina.

Sources:

“We have lived in these homes for decades and have raised our kids and grandkids on this land, all while drinking the contaminated groundwater.” - Jonathan Gordon, Firefighter and Swepsonville resident.