Pennsylvania
Over 30 Pa. schools' drinking water have high levels of toxic ‘forever’ chemicals
The district sent a letter to parents and staff as soon as high levels of PFAS were detected at Central Bucks East High School. The letter stated there was “no immediate threat,” according to the DEP, but that the school would provide bottled water and install a filtration system “out of an abundance of caution.”
Under-the-sink filtration systems were installed throughout the school within a week, reducing the chemicals to non-detectable levels, Spencer said. He said officials may decide to install a more costly building-wide filtration system at a later date after more testing.
“We want to get ahead of it,” Spencer said. “There will be a cost. At the end of these four quarters … if one of our averages is higher than those MCLs, we’re going to have to come up with a longer-term solution.”
Central Bucks parent Jeffrey Shuck said he appreciated the school’s transparency, and the speed at which officials installed filtration systems.
“It looks like they’re taking it seriously going forward, which is what makes me happy,” he said.
However, parent Chris Tomlinson said he believes the school downplayed the situation. He said though schools have followed DEP requirements, he’s appalled they only began monitoring for PFAS this year, considering the chemical’s vast reach.
“That is absolutely unacceptable. With the amount of money that is poured into the Central Bucks School District, water should be paramount — especially if you’re pulling it from a well,” Tomlinson said.
Officials for the Central Bucks School District and the Coatesville Area School District said DEP advised them they need not notify staff and students about PFAS contamination until all tests throughout the year are complete. That’s partly because test results may change due to factors such as rainfall — in fact, a second test at Kings Highway resulted in slightly reduced levels, though still above the new federal regulations.
However, officials at both school districts said they disagreed with DEP’s advice to wait, and decided to notify parents and staff immediately.
Kings Highway Elementary School is currently researching a variety of filtration systems, said Catherine Van Vooren, superintendent for the Coatesville Area School District. She said she expects one to be installed by the end of August.
However, because the DEP said there’s no immediate health risk, tap water was not shut off. Bottled water has always been available as an option at the school, Van Vooren said.
“It’s very important to us that our students and staff are drinking water that meets guidelines,” she said. “Science is always evolving, and we’re going to continue to do whatever we need to do to be in compliance with these changing guidelines.”
Van Vooren said though addressing PFAS is a significant undertaking, the district is prepared to take on the challenge.
“Anytime you have something that wasn’t budgeted, that’s always a concern for schools because you have specific monies that are budgeted in different departments,” she said.
“That said … we also have our reserve, because you just never know what’s going to happen. We’re going to need a whole school water filtration system, but it could also be something happens with a roof, or a natural disaster, or something of that sort. So, we are prepared to absorb this without it having a huge effect on our budgetary costs.”
There is no need to panic when water first tests positive for PFAS since the health effects associated with the chemicals appear to be chronic in nature, said Andy Yencha, a water resources educator at Penn State Extension at Penn State University. He said parents should ask the school what level of PFAS was detected in the water system.
“If the levels of PFAS in the school’s water exceed the EPA’s more stringent levels then I believe the best course of action is … the child, or anyone at the school, should avoid the drinking water … until the PFAS levels are reduced to below the federal MCLs.”
In a statement, the Pennsylvania Department of Education said it’s working closely with schools that have identified PFAS in their water systems, and is providing support. Schools may also seek funding from the Public School Environmental Repairs Program to address PFAS. The $75 million grant program helps to fund environmental remediation at schools.
“The Shapiro administration is committed to ensuring that all students can learn in a safe, secure environment free from hazards and environmental toxins,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
RADNOR TWP., Pa. (WPVI) — Three winning scratch-off tickets totaling $7.5 million were sold in Pennsylvania, lottery officials announced on Monday.
One winning “MONOPOLY Own It All” ticket worth $5 million was sold in Delaware County at the GIANT on the 500 block of East Lancaster Avenue. The grocery store will receive a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
“MONOPOLY Own It All” is a $50 game that offers top prizes of $5 million.
In Erie County, a $1.5 million-winning “Cash Spectacular” scratch-off was purchased at a Sheetz on Perry Highway. “Cash Spectacular” is a $30 game that offers top prizes of $1.5 million.
And in Luzerne County, a $1 million-winning “Millionaire Loading” scratch-off was sold at Schiel’s Family Market in Wilkes-Barre. “Millionaire Loading” is a $20 game that offers top prizes of $1 million.
Scratch-off prizes expire one year from the game’s end-sale date posted at palottery.com.
Winners should immediately sign the back of their ticket and call the Pennsylvania Lottery at 1-800-692-7481.
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A new report from U-Haul shows where Pennsylvania residents are leaving to and where new residents are coming from in 2025. Here’s what to know about U-Haul’s top 10 states with the most and least growth numbers.
Eight warm weather states made U-Haul’s top 10 growth list for 2025, while eight states in the colder Northeast and Midwest filled out the bottom 10, including Pennsylvania and neighboring New York, New Jersey, and Ohio. Delaware ranked 21 out of 50 states in growth for 2025.
U-Haul also noted besides geography, that seven of the 10 states with the most growth featured Republican governors, nine of which went red in the last presidential election, and 9 out of 10 in the bottom growth states featured Democrat governors, seven of which went blue in the last presidential election.
“We continue to find that life circumstances — marriage, children, a death in the family, college, jobs and other events — dictate the need for most moves,” said John “J.T.” Taylor, U-Haul International president in press release. Adding, “But other factors can be important to people who are looking to change their surroundings. In-migration states are often appealing to those customers.”
U-Haul ranks states growth based on their one-way customer transactions that rented trucks, trailers or moving containers in one state and dropped it off in another state. Their growth index included over 2.5 million annual one-way transactions across the United States and Canada.
Texas holds the number one U-Haul growth state for the seventh time in the last 10 years while California ranked last for the sixth year in a how.
Pennsylvania’s growth rank for 2025 remained at a low 46 out of 50 states, same as 2024, and compared relatively similar to its growth numbers over the last 10 years, according to U-Haul’s data, with the exception during 2022-2023 when its highest growth numbers hit 24 out of 50 in 2022 and 38 out of 50 in 2023.
Oregon, Mississippi, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Louisiana and Montana were among the biggest year-over-year gainers in 2025 compared to U-Haul’s 2024 rankings, while Ohio, Virginia, Indiana, Iowa, Delaware and Nebraska saw the biggest drops.
While the national average rent in the U.S. sits at approximately $1,623 per month (0.4% higher than this time last year) the Keystone State boasts a lower rent average at approximately $1,526 per month (1.9% higher than last year), according to Apartments.com. It is ranked 34th least expensive rent by state.
Here’s what to know about Pennsylvania and what states saw the most and least growth in 2025 according to U-Haul.
Top 10 U-Haul growth states of 2025
In 2025 Pennsylvania ranked 46 out of 50 states on growth as reported by U-Haul.
- Texas
- Florida
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- South Carolina
- Washington
- Arizona
- Idaho
- Alabama
- Georgia
U-Haul reported the 10 states with the lowest growth numbers were lead by California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Connecticut, and Michigan.
Where are Pennsylvania residents moving to and from?
According to the company’s semiannual U.S. migration trends report, based on the one-way rental data after the summer’s high moving season, it revealed that while Pennsylvania remains a top destination, Pennsylvanians are also packing up and heading out. Here’s where they moved to:
- New York
- Maryland
- North Carolina
- Massachusettes
- Ohio
- Michigan
- Florida
- California
- Washington D.C.
According to this report, here’s what states new residents came from:
- New Jersey
- New York
- Maryland
- Florida
- Virginia
- North Carolina
- Delaware
- Massachusetts
- Ohio
- Texas
- West Virginia
- Michigan
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