Quick Answer: Very likely trace amounts, in the higher-than-purified range. Arrowhead is a natural spring water with no reverse-osmosis step, produced the same way as its sister brands Deer Park (~1.2 ppt) and Poland Spring (1.66 ppt). It was not individually included in the widely cited Consumer Reports PFAS testing, so it has no verified public number — but its spring-water process and shared ownership place it in the same ~1 to 2 ppt range as its siblings, above purified brands like Aquafina (~0.5) and well under the 4 ppt EPA legal limit.
What We Actually Know About Arrowhead and PFAS
Let’s be precise about the evidence, because a lot of what circulates online is guesswork dressed as fact:
- Arrowhead was not individually tested in the prominent Consumer Reports analysis of 47 bottled waters. There is no widely published, brand-specific total-PFAS number for Arrowhead the way there is for Poland Spring (1.66) or Deer Park (~1.2).
- It is a natural spring water, sourced from springs in California and the broader Western US, filtered and disinfected but not reverse-osmosis treated.
- It shares ownership and process with tested siblings. Arrowhead, Deer Park, Poland Spring, Ozarka and Zephyrhills were all Nestlé Waters North America brands, sold to BlueTriton Brands in 2021, and all made the same spring-water way.
So the honest answer is inference, not measurement: Arrowhead almost certainly carries trace PFAS in the same range as its siblings — roughly 1 to 2 ppt — but no verified number exists. Anyone quoting a precise Arrowhead figure is extrapolating.
Why the Spring-Water Process Points to the Answer
When a brand-specific test is missing, the production method is the most reliable predictor — and it has been remarkably consistent across every water that has been tested.
Spring water like Arrowhead is drawn from underground springs, filtered for sediment, and disinfected with ozone or UV. None of those steps removes PFAS. The “minimal processing” that spring brands advertise as a virtue is exactly why forever chemicals pass straight through into the bottle.
Purified brands, by contrast, use reverse osmosis — a membrane with pores around 0.0001 microns that physically excludes PFAS, removing 94-99%. That single step is why Aquafina (~0.5) and Dasani (~0.4) test at a fraction of what spring waters do. Arrowhead skips it entirely.
How Arrowhead Likely Fits the Rankings
| Brand | Total PFAS (ppt) | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Essentia | 0.2 | Purified (RO) |
| Dasani | ~0.4 | Purified (RO) |
| Aquafina | ~0.5 | Purified (RO) |
| Deer Park | ~1.2 | Spring |
| Arrowhead | No published data (likely ~1-2) | Spring |
| Poland Spring | 1.66 | Spring |
Its two tested siblings bracket the likely range. Full rankings: Best Bottled Water Without PFAS and our complete bottled water rankings.
Arrowhead’s Legal History Is Worth Knowing
Arrowhead has faced scrutiny that is separate from PFAS but relevant to how much to trust its “natural spring” branding. The brand was the subject of a long-running dispute over whether its water genuinely qualified as “spring water” and over the permits for drawing water from the San Bernardino National Forest in California. In 2021, California regulators ordered the operator to stop unauthorized diversions from some of those sources.
That history does not change the PFAS picture directly, but it reinforces a theme: the “natural spring” label carries marketing weight that does not always match the technical or regulatory reality. For PFAS specifically, “spring” tells you the water skipped the one step that would have removed it.
Is the Likely Level Safe to Drink?
If Arrowhead sits in the estimated 1-2 ppt range, it is legal and compliant — under the EPA’s 4 ppt limit for individual regulated compounds and the industry’s 5 ppt voluntary standard, though above the stricter 1 ppt threshold some scientists advocate. Occasional drinking carries no established risk.
As always, the number matters for cumulative exposure. PFOA and PFOS have blood half-lives of 2 to 5 years, so if bottled water is your main daily source, a purified brand at 0.4-0.5 ppt roughly halves or thirds the contribution compared with a spring water. For an occasional drinker, the difference is negligible against larger sources.
Where Bottled Water Sits in Total Exposure
Even in the 1-2 ppt range, Arrowhead is rarely a person’s biggest PFAS source. The larger contributors:
- Food packaging — grease-resistant wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, takeout containers.
- Non-stick cookware — scratched or overheated pans above roughly 500°F / 260°C.
- Household dust — from treated carpets and textiles.
- Tap water — detectable in supplies serving more than 200 million Americans, per EWG estimates.
Lower-PFAS Alternatives to Arrowhead
If you want a lower, verified reading than Arrowhead’s estimated range, switch from spring to purified:
- Dasani (~0.4) and Aquafina (~0.5) — reverse-osmosis purified, tested, roughly a third of the spring-water range.
- Essentia (0.2) — the lowest tested purified brand.
- Home filtration — a certified NSF 53/58 system beats every bottled brand and gives a number you can verify.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Arrowhead water have PFAS?
Arrowhead has no published brand-specific PFAS test, but as a natural spring water with no reverse-osmosis step — made the same way as Deer Park (~1.2 ppt) and Poland Spring (1.66 ppt) — it very likely carries trace PFAS in the same ~1-2 ppt range, above purified brands and under the 4 ppt EPA legal limit.
Is Arrowhead water safe to drink?
Yes. It meets FDA and IBWA bottled water standards, and its likely PFAS level sits under the legal limits. The number matters for cumulative exposure, not immediate safety.
Why is there no PFAS test for Arrowhead?
The prominent Consumer Reports study tested 47 waters but did not individually include Arrowhead. No widely cited brand-specific number exists, so its likely level is inferred from its spring-water process and tested sibling brands.
Is Arrowhead the same as Poland Spring?
They are sister brands — both regional spring waters formerly under Nestlé Waters North America, now owned by BlueTriton Brands, and produced the same way. Poland Spring tested at 1.66 ppt; Arrowhead is untested but made identically.
What bottled water is better than Arrowhead for PFAS?
Purified reverse-osmosis brands like Dasani (~0.4), Aquafina (~0.5) and Essentia (0.2) are tested and sit well below the spring-water range, at similar prices.
Which bottled water has no PFAS at all?
Icelandic Glacial reported non-detect results, and Essentia tested lowest among purified brands at 0.2 ppt. See the full PFAS-free bottled water rankings.
The Bottom Line
Arrowhead almost certainly contains trace PFAS, most likely in the 1-2 ppt range, but it has no verified public test — its likely level is inferred from its spring-water process and its tested siblings Deer Park (~1.2) and Poland Spring (1.66). That would keep it under the EPA’s 4 ppt legal limit and 5 ppt industry standard, while above the stricter 1 ppt scientist-recommended threshold.
The reason is the same one that runs through this whole category: Arrowhead is natural spring water with no reverse-osmosis step, and “natural” leaves PFAS in place rather than removing it. If PFAS is your priority, a tested purified brand like Dasani or Aquafina cuts the likely reading to roughly a third — and home filtration beats every bottle with a number you can verify yourself.
References
- Consumer Reports — Bottled Water PFAS Testing (47 products)
- EPA — PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (2024)
- FDA — PFAS in Food & Bottled Water
- Environmental Working Group — PFAS Contamination Map
- ATSDR/CDC — Health Effects of PFAS Exposure
Affiliate disclosure: as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. It never affects our rankings or the numbers we report.
