CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg updated city residents on the forever chemicals, or PFAS, in the drinking water. She wrote a long article in the city newsletter that arrived in your mailbox last week. You should read it.
There’s one new piece of information that hasn’t received a lot of public attention. The solution to the PFAS problem right now is only a temporary one. The city was so rushed to get the long-delayed water plant online that we’re using a temporary filtration system until a permanent reverse-osmosis system is ready. What we didn’t know is that the temporary filtration uses resin to filter out the forever chemicals. The resin will need to be replaced, and it’s very expensive – $800,000. That’s a huge amount of money for a temporary fix.
There are a few important but inconvenient facts that the mayor left out of her report to the city. She says PFAS is now at undetectable levels. Actually the state standards for PFAS are not zero, they are 70-parts-per-trillion from the Department of Natural Resources, or 18-parts-per-trillion from the state’s Department of Health Services. What’s never discussed is how much more money is Wausau spending to get to zero, instead of just getting into compliance.
When talking about the coming rate increase – 65-percent higher water bills for Wausau Water Works customers – there are these two nuggets. First, Rosenberg speaks of the rate hike as if it’s a foregone conclusion. She writes it will take effect this summer and water bills will go up about $200 a year for typical families. It is not a done-deal. There will still be a public hearing and a finding from state regulators. And the state has a long history of rolling back rate-hike requests. They did it last month, scaling back increases in electric rates requested by WE Energies and Wisconsin Public Service. If you’re outraged by these runaway costs, speak up or file a written comment. And second, Mayor Rosenberg failed to mention that she is the chairperson of the water commission. Where was her opposition to these breathtaking rate hikes? Under her leadership, Wausau will have some of the most expensive water in the state. If you have a problem with that, vote for someone else.
Chris Conley
Comments