WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The City of Wausau formally posted a Drinking Water Advisory for PFAS over the weekend, a move that fulfills its official obligation to notify the public of the contaminates per DNR policy.
Public Works Director Eric Lindman told WSAU news that the language in the advisory comes from a DNR template, and is going to be published in the city’s official newspaper of record along with the special PFAS section that’s been set up on the city’s website.
Wausau’s water tested below the current federal standard of 70 parts per trillion for PFAS, but above a former proposed state standard of 20 PPT. That was voted down by the Natural Resources Board in late February.
The 20 PPT mark has been implemented as a state standard in other areas, and there is a movement to make that mark the national standard as well.
This comes as the city is continuing to formulate plans to deal with the so-called forever chemicals, which were found in all six of its drinking water wells in late 2021. On Tuesday the city’s Water Works Commission will meet alongside the Finance Committee to approve the purchase of 31 additional pallets of bottled water to be distributed by The Neighbor’s Place. The water itself is being made available to the city free of charge, but the city will have to pay around $13,000 for shipping.
The groups are also agendized to discuss other strategies for handling the PFAS situation in the short and long term, though no specifics on those are included with the agenda packet.
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Those in the city’s water treatment plant are continuing to work behind the scenes to find a filtration process that will remove the chemicals, which would clear up the issue once the new drinking water treatment plant begins flowing this summer. PFAS are considered an “emerging contaminate” with little regulation, though they are known to cause health complications in both children and adults by building up in the body over time.
While Wausau’s water is not in violation of any current federal or state regulations. City leaders have recommended that residents limit their intake of the city’s water or run their water through an appropriate filtration system before drinking it.
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