Air Force to buy water, help with filters for Fountain, Security-Widefield

The U.S. military has agreed to spend more than $900,000 to buy water and take other steps for Colorado communities where wells were tainted by chemicals from nearby Peterson Air Force Base.

The Air Force will purchase clean drinking water and pay for operating and maintaining filter systems, according to a news release issued Wednesday.

Compounds called PFCs were found in well water in three utility systems serving about 69,000 people in the city of Fountain and an unincorporated community called Security-Widefield.

PFCs have been linked to cancer and other problems, and levels found in the Colorado communities exceeded the federal government’s recommended limits.

PFCs were a component of firefighting foam. The military confirmed in 2017 the chemicals found in the Colorado wells came from Peterson Air Force Base.