Many water managers have long been stumped on how to best control pesky, cancer-causing “forever chemicals” popping up in samples throughout the country. In a first-of-its-kind water quality snapshot for all of the American West’s waterways, a team of researchers found out just how widespread the problem is. … Waterways from as far northwest as Washington state and as far southeast as New Mexico have at least some concentrations of PFAS chemicals of concern. Colorado River sampling was comparatively lower than most, as were the results from the Truckee River, Reno’s main water source.