Jandakot PFAS Plume: Regulatory and Infrastructure Challenges
On 27 April 2026, Perth radio station 6PR reported that residents of Clements Place, Jandakot, are now receiving trucked-in drinking water every week following confirmation that PFAS contamination in local groundwater bores has reached levels that make the water unsafe for any domestic use. The contamination originates from historical use of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) at Jandakot Airport, where PFAS-containing fire suppressants were used for decades before being phased out from the early 2000s. Despite that phase-out, the highly persistent and mobile nature of PFOS, PFOA, and related compounds has allowed a groundwater plume to migrate well beyond the airport boundary into adjacent rural-residential properties.
This development matters to environmental professionals well beyond Western Australia. It illustrates what happens when institutional controls such as bore water exclusion zones are deployed as a long-term management tool rather than a genuine interim measure. Exclusion zones restrict use of contaminated groundwater, but they do not remediate it, and in communities that rely on bores for drinking, irrigation, livestock, and food production, the practical consequences of a migrating plume are severe. Residents around Bandicoot Reserve and Clements Place have already had to destroy beehives and cull chickens after PFAS was detected in eggs and honey, demonstrating that the exposure pathway extends far beyond direct ingestion of bore water.
The crisis also sits at the intersection of groundwater hydrogeology, urban planning policy, infrastructure economics, and a rapidly evolving national regulatory framework. With the Australian Government’s PFAS-Airports Investigation Program formally underway since March 2024, and a PFAS management plan for Jandakot Airport expected in mid-2026, this case will become a reference point for how Australia manages legacy PFAS contamination at airports surrounded by residential growth corridors.
PFAS Contamination at Jandakot: Key Details and Regulatory Response
The bore water exclusion zone affecting Clements Place and properties north of Bandicoot Reserve in Jandakot was initially established in late 2022. At that time, residents were advised to immediately stop using groundwater bores for drinking, cooking, watering edible garden beds, and filling swimming pools. The contamination source is Jandakot Airport, where AFFF containing PFOS and PFOA was used historically in fire training and emergency response activities. The Jandakot aquifer system, which is part of the Superficial Aquifer underlying much of Perth’s southern suburbs, is highly permeable and provides minimal natural attenuation for PFAS compounds, which are both hydrophilic and resistant to biodegradation.
By April 2026, the plume had migrated sufficiently beyond the original exclusion zone boundary that trucked water delivery became the only viable short-term intervention. Jandakot Airport is supplying the trucked water on a weekly basis to affected households. The Water Corporation has confirmed that extending scheme water infrastructure to the area is currently financially unviable given the large block sizes typical of the rural-residential lots in this part of Jandakot. Cockburn East Ward Councillor Tarun Dewan, speaking to 6PR, stated that in his view the only sustainable solution is to rezone the suburb from rural to residential to enable subdivision, with the resulting land development income funding the infrastructure needed to connect properties to scheme water and permanently eliminate the groundwater exposure pathway.
The Australian Government’s PFAS-Airports Investigation Program commenced in March 2024 and covers airports where AFFF use is known or suspected. A formal PFAS management plan for Jandakot Airport is expected to be released in mid-2026. This program sits under the Commonwealth’s broader PFAS National Environmental Management Plan, now in its third version (PFAS NEMP 3.0), which was published in 2024 and introduced updated investigation and screening levels aligned with revised guideline values. Under PFAS NEMP 3.0, the health-based investigation levels for PFOS plus PFOA plus PFHxS in drinking water are consistent with the 2024 updates to the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG), which reduced the combined PFOS, PFOA, and PFHxS health guideline value to 0.07 micrograms per litre (µg/L). This tightening from earlier advisory values means that groundwater sources that previously sat below screening thresholds may now exceed them.
The ecological dimension of the Jandakot case is equally significant. PFAS bioaccumulation in backyard livestock, including poultry and bees, demonstrates that the human health exposure pathway is not limited to direct bore water ingestion. It extends through the food chain via eggs, honey, and potentially home-grown vegetables irrigated with contaminated water. This is consistent with international research showing that PFAS bioaccumulates in animal tissue and that dietary exposure can represent a meaningful contribution to total body burden, particularly in semi-rural communities that produce a portion of their own food.
Australian Context: PFAS NEMP 3.0, ADWG 2024 Updates, and Contaminated Land Frameworks Relevant to Jandakot-Style Scenarios
Australia’s regulatory response to PFAS has evolved considerably since the first PFAS NEMP was published in 2018. The third version, PFAS NEMP 3.0 (2024), provides the most current national framework for investigation, assessment, and management of PFAS-affected sites. It incorporates revised guideline values drawn from updated toxicological assessments and aligns with the 2024 ADWG revisions. The combined health guideline value of 0.07 µg/L for PFOS, PFOA, and PFHxS in drinking water under the 2024 ADWG represents one of the most stringent drinking water standards Australia has applied to these compounds and reflects the growing weight of evidence on PFAS toxicity at low exposure levels.
References and related sources
- Primary source: www.6pr.com.au
- perthnow.com.au
- pjra.com.au
- environmentwatch.wa.gov.au
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This is an iEnvi Machete news summary. Prepared by iEnvi to summarise the source article for contaminated land, groundwater, remediation, approvals and site risk professionals.
Published: 27 Apr 2026
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