The results of expanded drinking water well testing are in.

None of the 26 private, off-base drinking water wells sampled by the Navy in 2025 tested for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are above Department of Defense interim action levels, the Restoration Advisory Board reported during a meeting on Tuesday.

Wells located off but near base property at Ault Field, the Area 6 Landfill and Outlying Landing Field Coupeville were tested; sampling detected levels of PFAS, commonly known as “forever chemicals,” below Department of Defense interim action levels in two wells near the Area 6 Landfill and two near Outlying Field Coupeville.

Sampling those 26 wells is the result of a September 2024 policy re-evaluation by the Navy dictating that off-base sampling areas, which have been tested largely since 2018 and in some cases since 2016, should be expanded. Sampling detected PFAS at many private wells located in the original sampling areas in that time span — 183 total wells were sampled at Ault Field, 31 at Area 6 and 126 at OLF Coupeville.

According to materials distributed at the meeting, the Navy conducts sampling in collaboration with Region 10 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington State Department of Ecology, the Washington State Department of Health and the Island County Public Health Department.

The DoD’s interim action levels for PFAS detections in private drinking water wells range anywhere from 12 to 30 parts per trillion, depending on the type.

Kendra Clubb, a Navy co-chair in attendance, explained that wells with prior detections of PFAS are among those subjected to biannual samplings. Biannual sampling last took place in May and is next planned this October and in the spring of 2026.