4 ppt limits for PFOA and PFOS are driving a multi-year buildout of carbon and resin treatment across the US, and a growing, recurring stream of PFAS-laden spent media poses ongoing liabilities, if not destroyed
MORRISVILLE, NC / ACCESS Newswire / October 27, 2026 / 374Water Inc. (NASDAQ:SCWO) ("374Water" or the "Company"), a leading cleantech and environmental services company deploying supercritical water oxidation technology for the permanent destruction of PFAS and other organic waste streams, today outlined how implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ("EPA") PFAS drinking water regulations is expected to drive demand for the permanent destruction of spent granular activated carbon ("GAC") and ion exchange ("IX") media, and how the Company is positioning its AirSCWO™ technology and Waste Destruction Services ("WDS") to meet that demand.
Positioned for Implementation
374Water is positioned to serve the spent-media destruction market as it expands. The implementation forecasts align directly with the Company's WDS growth plan: as monitoring results are disclosed, treatment comes online, spent-media volumes are expected to grow and recur. The Company is in active discussions with large engineering firms, treatment service providers, media suppliers and utilities to capture that demand, and intends to serve it through its Orlando hub and additional WDS hubs.
Removal is not destruction. GAC and IX, two of the technologies EPA identified as best available technologies for PFAS removal in drinking water, capture PFAS but do not destroy it. Every gallon treated transfers PFAS onto the media. When that media is spent, it still contains PFAS - now concentrated - and poses ongoing liabilities and health risks.
The Regulatory Clock Is Running
The U.S. EPA's April 2024 National Primary Drinking Water Regulation set enforceable maximum contaminant levels ("MCLs") of 4.0 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS, which remain in effect. Demand is already here, and the calendar for what comes next is fixed:
The U.S. EPA's final nationwide monitoring data, released in August 2026, show more than 10% of the approximately 10,000 public water systems with complete results above at least one PFAS MCL, including 15.5% of large systems serving more than 10,000 people. Those utilities are selecting and procuring treatment now.
Public water systems will have to complete initial PFAS monitoring, and publish those results in the Consumer Confidence Reports utilities deliver to their customers, putting every exceedance in front of ratepayers.
Systems must then comply with the MCLs and notify the public of any violations. Treatment that must be operating by then is being designed, bid and built today.
The American Water Works Association has estimated that compliance will cost the water sector $3.8 billion to $5.5 billion annually once treatment is in place. That doesn't include Capital Expenditures for infrastructure.. Whichever approach a utility chooses, the 4 ppt limits do not change, and every treatment system installed to meet them will generate spent media year after year.
From Treatment Buildout to a Recurring Spent-Media Stream
Utilities are selecting and installing GAC and IX systems now, and many larger systems already operate them. Once in service, these systems generate spent media on a recurring basis as beds reach breakthrough and are replaced, often annually. A single mid-sized utility can generate approximately 80,000 pounds of PFAS-laden spent GAC each year, and one of the largest GAC installations in North Carolina alone holds nearly 3 million pounds of carbon.
The underlying media markets are substantial. MarketsandMarkets projects the PFAS filtration market to grow from $2.34 billion in 2026 to $3.28 billion by 2031, and Straits Research estimates the U.S. ion exchange resin market at approximately $620 million in 2026.
PFAS-selective IX resin is generally designed for single use and is not regenerated, so every pound of spent resin requires disposal or destruction. PFOA and PFOS also remain designated as hazardous substances under CERCLA, a designation the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld in August 2026, adding long-term liability considerations to how PFAS-laden residuals are managed.
Supercritical water oxidation offers a different endpoint. Rather than reactivating, burning or burying spent media, 374Water's AirSCWO technology is designed to break PFAS down into water, carbon dioxide and mineral salts, eliminating the PFAS liability instead of moving it.
Validated Destruction, Commercially Operating
AirSCWO is designed to permanently destroy PFAS, not relocate it. In a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center ("ERDC") technical report (ERDC TR-26-19), authored by Arcadis, an AirSCWO system operating at the Company's Orlando WDS facility achieved 99.9993% total PFAS destruction and removal efficiency on aqueous film-forming foam ("AFFF"), measured by TOP Assay across 42 PFAS species. Treated effluent met EPA MCLs for all regulated PFAS, and PFAS stack emissions without secondary air abatement.
Those results were achieved on AFFF, one of the most concentrated PFAS waste streams. Orlando is the first hub in the Company's WDS strategy, designed to aggregate AFFF and other concentrated PFAS wastes, including spent GAC, spent IX media and foam fractionate. AirSCWO is designed to process solid wastes, including spent GAC and IX resin, in addition to liquids, a capability that, to the Company's knowledge, no other SCWO provider currently offers. The Defense Innovation Unit's recently issued Success Memo establishes a pathway for Other Transaction Authority ("OTA") follow-on production awards across Federal agencies.
374Water has previously forecasted that Orlando, at its current planned capacity, has the potential to generate approximately $3 million to $5 million in annual revenue at targeted operating levels. The Company's expansion plan anticipates increasing capacity approximately 3-4 times, with a target of $10 million to $14 million in annual revenue, subject to waste mix, utilization, and pricing.
"The drinking water rule defines when utilities must remove PFAS. It doesn't answer what happens to the PFAS once it's captured," said Brad Meyers, COO of 374Water. "Every GAC and IX system that comes online between now and 2029 becomes a recurring source of PFAS-laden media. Our job is to give utilities and their service providers a permanent, verifiable endpoint - destruction, not storage or transfer. Because AirSCWO can process solids, we can take the spent carbon and resin itself, not just liquid concentrates, and we are already building that model in Orlando."
About 374Water
374Water Inc. (NASDAQ: SCWO) is a cleantech and environmental services company deploying supercritical water oxidation technology for the destruction of organic waste streams within the industrial, municipal, and federal markets. 374Water's AirSCWO technology is designed to efficiently destroy and mineralize a broad spectrum of nonhazardous and hazardous organic wastes, producing safe dischargeable water streams, safe mineral effluent, safe vent gas, and recoverable heat energy. 374Water's AirSCWO technology has the potential to assist its customers to meet discharge requirements, reduce or eliminate disposal costs, remove bottlenecks, and reduce litigation and other risks. 374Water continues to be a leader in innovative waste treatment solutions, dedicated to creating a greener future and eradicating harmful pollutants. Learn more by visiting www.374water.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this communication are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "confidence," "could," "design," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "potential," or other comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. 374Water has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations, assumptions, estimates, beliefs, and projections. While 374Water believes these expectations, assumptions, estimates, and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond the 374Water's control. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those discussed under "Risk Factors" in 374Water's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and in 374Water's subsequent filings and reports with the SEC. The forward-looking statements herein are made only as of the date they were first issued, and unless otherwise required by laws, 374Water disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Investor Relations Contact
Belton Copp
Vice President
Direct: 401-419-1545
Belton.Copp@374water.com
www.374Water.com
SOURCE: 374Water, Inc.
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