PFAS: Tap water banned for consumption in 16 municipalities in the Meuse and Ardennes

Tap water consumption will be banned in the coming days in four municipalities in the Meuse and 12 in the Ardennes following the discovery of abnormal levels of PFAS , known as "eternal pollutants," the prefectures announced.

The consumption of tap water for drinking or preparing baby bottles will be banned from July 10 in twelve municipalities in the Ardennes with a total of 2,800 inhabitants, the Ardennes prefecture announced on Friday, July 4, in a press release co-signed with the Grand-Est Regional Health Agency.

Before that, the same measure will apply starting Saturday to four municipalities in the Meuse department, each with a combined population of 620, according to a press release from the prefecture published Thursday evening. Neither prefecture has specified the duration of this ban.

All the affected villages in the Meuse are located along the same river, the Loison. The affected municipalities in the Ardennes are all located in the south of the department, near the River Meuse or one of its tributaries.

These restrictions follow the discovery of PFAS levels above the legal limit of 100 nanograms per liter (ng/l) in distributed water. A law on eternal pollutants enacted in early 2025 plans to include PFAS in the health monitoring of drinking water.

The Ardennes prefecture acknowledges that, in the affected municipalities of the department, "the total concentration of the 20 main PFAS persistently and significantly exceeds the regulatory limit."

According to France 3 and the media Disclose , in 17 municipalities straddling the Meuse and the Ardennes, the levels of PFAS detected exceed this limit by 3 to 27 times, up to 2,729 ng/l in Villy (Ardennes). A record in France.

The source used by the village of Villy is so polluted that "we cannot treat it, we cannot bring the level down," laments Richard Pilbiche, its mayor.

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as "eternal pollutants," can have harmful effects on human health : increased cholesterol levels, cancers, effects on fertility and fetal development, etc.

Widely used in industry since the mid-20th century, for example to make non-stick pans, waterproof clothing or cosmetics, they are, as their name suggests, extremely difficult to eliminate once in water or soil.

In this case, "the pollution could be linked to the spreading, on agricultural plots located near drinking water catchments, of paper mill sludge likely to contain PFAS", according to the two prefectures, although "this origin remains to be confirmed".

Richard Pilbiche accuses a nearby paper mill of having, in addition to spreading the sludge in nearby fields, "buried entire piles (of paper sludge) on land just above our source", causing these extremely high levels.

The Meuse prefecture is asking the municipalities concerned, "those responsible for the production and distribution of water, to ensure the distribution of bottles to residents."

For Villy, this represents an expense of 18,000 euros per year. "We'll pay 100 times more for water" than if it were captured at the source, he assures.

The Prefect of the Ardennes is urging the affected municipalities "to implement, as soon as possible, an action plan to satisfactorily reduce the level of PFAS in the water and bring the water back into compliance with current standards."