Navy to drill PFAS monitoring wells on town property

Published 1:30 am Friday, February 27, 2026

Two new wells are needed in the Navy’s cleanup of harmful per- and polyfluoroalkl substances in Coupeville.

Tuesday, the town council unanimously approved the Navy’s request to enter the town’s 40-acre water plant property in order to drill two new PFAS monitoring wells. Mayor Molly Hughes’ memo on the subject explains the wells’ planned location between a non-detect Coupeville well and a parallel, PFAS-positive Navy well is needed to define the extent of a PFAS plume.

Firefighting foam containing PFAS has historically been used to extinguish jet fuel fires on military installations. These chemicals, now linked to serious health issues, have been detected in the groundwater at Outlying Landing Field Coupeville and in drinking water wells off of the base.

Base Public Affairs Officer Mike Welding confirmed that the wells’ installation is planned for late spring or early summer of this year. Two weeks are needed to install them, along with an “additional week to develop and sample” them, he explained.

Hughes said the wells will be installed at the Navy’s expense. Welding confirmed the project will cost $180,000.

The right of entry agreement the council approved gives the Navy access to the property to install the wells, conduct sampling and “land survey on the premises” for no longer than the next five years. It includes an option to renew the agreement for another five years.