JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas – At Cannon Air Force Base near Clovis, New Mexico, the Department of the Air Force has treated more than 125 million gallons of PFAS impacted water.
To put that in perspective, the average railroad tank car can hold up to 34,500 gallons. It would take 3,623 such tank cars in a train 41 miles long to move that much water across New Mexico.
“We’re glad to share this initial success at Cannon, and there’s more to come,” said Michael Ackerman, the Air Force’s regional environmental coordinator for the area. “We’re aggressively tackling PFAS (per and polyfluoroalkyl substances) head-on at all our installations in the state.”
The Cannon water treatment success is part of a larger effort across New Mexico to address PFAS in drinking water sources and protect the state’s limited water resources. To date, the Air Force has invested more than $143 million in New Mexico, including over $74 million at Cannon AFB, to identify and treat ground water containing PFAS that may be associated with Air Force activities.
The Air Force Civil Engineer Center, a primary subordinate unit of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center, is leading the Cannon effort and is advancing cleanup and mitigation actions tailored to local conditions at Holloman AFB in Alamogordo and Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque to PFAS response efforts.
In early January, AFCEC hosted an open house in Clovis, the first in-person public meeting to discuss PFAS cleanup efforts at Cannon AFB since the COVID-19 pandemic. Local residents talked to Air Force experts and heard an update on the status of the on-going environmental response.
“I’m thrilled this open house took place,” said Mayor Mike Morris of Clovis. “The fact that you have an in-person opportunity to hear the facts, hear questions from others and get answers is a fantastic way for people to understand what’s really going on with the cleanup process.”
After PFAS was discovered at Cannon AFB in 2015, AFCEC tested 25 nearby private wells and found three above the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2016 lifetime health advisory level. The center offered filtration systems or alternative water supplies to affected residents.
To contain PFAS in groundwater from further migration off-base, AFCEC launched two pilot treatment systems. The first, operating on the southeast side of the base, captures and treats about 500,000 gallons of groundwater per day to prevent further off base migration.
“These systems are part of our interim response efforts to stop PFAS from spreading while we develop long term solutions,” said Chris Gierke, AFCEC restoration project manager at Cannon AFB. “We regularly sample monitoring wells to ensure treated water meets stringent cleanup standards before it’s safely reinjected into the aquifer.”
A second system near North Playa Lake is scheduled to begin construction in spring 2026 and is designed to treat 1,000 gallons per minute, with capacity to double if needed.
AFCEC and its contractor Noblis are developing a three-dimensional groundwater fate and transport model to better understand how PFAS moves through the groundwater aquifer around Cannon and to guide long term cleanup decisions. The model will inform next steps in the Remedial Investigation, with Phase I expected to be finalized in early 2026.
“The model helps us determine how much of the PFAS plume comes from Cannon, both on and off base,” said Mark Stapleton, senior environmental remediation engineer with Noblis.
But to gather the data needed for the model, AFCEC needs community support.
“The key part of PFAS cleanup is obtaining access to land so we can install monitoring wells and identify where off base pump and treat systems may be needed,” Gierke said. “We encourage private landowners around Cannon AFB to partner with us so the full extent of the PFAS plume can be characterized and treatment implemented as quickly as possible.”
At Holloman AFB, AFCEC has installed 36 groundwater monitoring wells since 2019 to better understand PFAS in groundwater across three areas of the installation. The groundwater beneath the base is naturally salty - about three times saltier than ocean water - making it unsuitable for human consumption.
The base and the community gets its water from clean areas near the Sacramento Mountains, about 12 to 35 miles upgradient of known PFAS impacts.
Although drinking water sources are not impacted, PFAS is still a concern at the base and the community. When PFAS was discovered in the Holloman Evaporation Pond in 2024 the installation closed the pond to public access as a precaution. Public access remains restricted while the pond continues receiving water from the wastewater treatment plant and stormwater runoff.
“The safety of our community is our top priority, and our team is working every day to ensure the pond and surrounding areas are managed responsibly,” said Sarah Nuss Gore, AFCEC restoration project manager at Holloman AFB.
At Kirtland AFB, AFCEC sampled drinking-water wells in 2017 at two sites and found no PFAS in the water sources. A remedial investigation is underway to define the extent of PFAS in the surrounding environment.
Kirtland also operates pump and treat systems addressing groundwater impacts from a 1999 fuel leak at the Bulk Fuels Facility. The base removed the leaking pipes, installed new infrastructure, and continues extracting and treating contaminated groundwater to protect local water supplies.
“Our pump and treat systems have been highly effective in removing contaminants from the fuel release,” said Scott Clark, AFCEC restoration program manager for Kirtland AFB. “These systems protect the community’s water, restore the environment and provide solutions we can apply at other bases facing similar challenges.”
Since 2015, Kirtland’s system has achieved a 99% reduction in contaminants in the interim measure operational area.
“We have scientists and engineers from across the country working to address PFAS and other contaminants, and we’re proud of the progress we’ve made over the last decade,” Clark said. “Our top priority remains keeping people and communities safe regardless of what we are treating.”
Across New Mexico, the Air Force develops site specific restoration plans based on local conditions, groundwater depth, and the type and extent of PFAS impacts.
For more information on the DAF’s PFAS efforts visit www.afcec.af.mil/What-We-Do/Environment/Per-and-Polyfluoroalkl-Substances/.