Wausau Water Works
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Officials in Wausau have announced that they have discovered PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, in the city’s drinking water supply.
Mayor Katie Rosenberg and other city and state leaders held a news conference Wednesday to announce the findings. Rosenberg said at this time there is no reason for alarm, but it’s a situation that she does want to deal with sooner rather than later.
“Citizens do not need to panic. Wausau Water Works is not in violation of any drinking water standards or regulations. But, we are taking actions to proactively inform and protect the health of our customers,” said Rosenberg.
Voluntary testing conducted in the last few weeks turned up levels of between 23 and 48 parts per trillion (PPT) in each of the city’s six wells. Those levels are below USEPA Health Advisory levels of 70 PPT, but do exceed the new proposed Department of Natural Resources standard of 20 PPT based on the recommendation of the Department of Health Services. Rosenberg adds that her goal is to get the city’s water supply below the 20 PPT mark.
Public Works Director Eric Lindman said the city was made aware of the test results in Mid-January and has been working on their response behind the scenes ever since. He says it’s still unclear where the contamination may have come from, as PFAS can be found in everything from food containers to textiles and some cosmetics. Officials also didn’t rule out the possibility that the contamination could be coming from treated waste that was previously spread on the land over the wells.
Lindman adds that the city is already exploring options to control the contaminants. That could include bringing in a temporary treatment device or providing bottled water for residents temporarily. He also notes that the city’s new drinking water treatment plant is just months from coming online, which could solve the issue as well.
“The new facility has an anion exchange process in it with a resin medium. That has shown PFAS removal, [but] we don’t know how much removal we would get with our water chemistry. We will set up a pilot study with that resin along with a couple of others to determine which one works best,” said Lindman.
Both Rosenberg and Lindman noted that there is no consistent standard for PFAS between the state and federal governments. The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board is set to meet later this month to possibly recommend the 20 PPT mark to the Senate and Assembly.
Dr. Sara Yang with the Department of Health Services noted that PFAS have been linked to health problems such as high cholesterol and reproductive issues in women. She adds that some filtration systems can effectively eliminate some chemicals, but not all.
“There are some, but not all will do that. Just a filter in your refrigerator may not be sufficient,” she said. Yang adds that the state does have more information on which filters are most effective, which has been published to the city’s website under a special PFAS section.
Officials add that the levels do not put the Wausau Water Works utility in violation of any drinking water standards, and residents do not need to stop drinking or using the city’s water for cooking.
Mayor Rosenberg will be calling special meetings of both the Water Works Commission, which she chairs, and the City Council as soon as possible to discuss further action.
Wausau’s results came just weeks after the Town of Rib Mountain announced that a voluntary test yielded high levels of PFAS in one of their municipal wells.
Comments