PFAS in drinking water under mandatory control across the EU
From 12 January 2026 testing drinking water for PFAS is mandatory across the EU. For many water laboratories that means extending their accreditation scope.
- PFAS have been added to the list of mandatory determinations, so they now appear in every water supplier’s monitoring plan.
- Two thresholds apply: the sum of twenty priority substances up to 0.1 µg/l and the whole-group indicator up to 0.5 µg/l.
- The recommended EN 17892 series calls for liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry and work at nanogram-per-litre levels.
- This is not an analysis to be run alongside other water tests as an afterthought.
- It takes sensitive instruments, standards, a sample path free of fluorinated parts, a validated procedure and proficiency testing — otherwise results are not accepted in official control.
- Exceeding a threshold triggers a search for the source, meaning further series of samples from intakes, wells and surface water.
Source: Komisja Europejska