CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) Wausau has an alarmist on the City Council. Alderman Tom Killean is hell-bent on convincing people that the city’s drinking water is unsafe.
He sent a letter to the state’s Department of Health Services, asking them to review the levels of PFAS, or forever chemicals, in the water supply. It was not a letter from the full city council (which would have required a vote), or from the Mayor’s office, or from the Water Works Commission or the Public Works Department. It was one man – on a mission. And the state health department wrote back. Their breathtaking response says Wausau’s water is unsafe, and should not be used for cooking or drinking, and that residents should use alternate sources, like bottled water.
There’s just one problem: the Department of Health Services doesn’t regulate water quality in Wisconsin. The Department of Natural Resources does. The DNR wanted a statewide standard for PFAS of 20-parts-per-trillion. But the state’s Natural Resources Board rejected that, in favor of the more lenient 70-parts-per-trillion. Wausau’s level is right in the middle; 47-parts-per-trillion. And those levels are at the wellhead, before going through the city’s water filtration plant. When ionization is used, the level drops to undetectable levels.
Wausau’s Public Works Director Eric Lindman has it right. In a memo to city leaders, he advised against spending large amounts of money because of fear. Like $80,000 for bottled water that was snapped up in a single day. Or free filtered pitchers, which residents can buy for themselves if they’re worried. And another $80,000 on a water consultant. And to-be-determined amounts on new technology at the already-expensive water treatment plant.
And if the state health department really stands by its letter, that Wausau’s water is a public health risk… I dare you, declare a public health emergency and turn the water off. You won’t, because you know that’s an alarmist response.
I’m Chris Conley
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