Rick Stoviak leads a tour of the Rothschild water treatment plant. MWC photo by Mike Leischner
ROTHSCHILD, WI (WSAU) — Village leaders in Rothschild took a moment to mark the end of a years-long project designed to remove PFAS from the water supply.
Administrator Ryan VanDeWalle and Public Works Director Tim Vergara held a media session to show off the new facility Tuesday morning, which has been delivering water to customers since mid-November.
“The PFAS is now at a non-detectable or non-traceable level,” said VanDeWalle. “We are coming in well under 4 parts per trillion (PPT). Before the plant came online, we were in the low 20 PPT [range].”
The system utilized a granular activated carbon filtration system to remove PFAS, similar to the system installed at Wausau’s drinking water treatment plant. The village utilized some low-interest loans and PFAS settlement dollars to help pay for the $7.5 million facility, meaning a rate case study will likely be in the works for later this year. “We’ll work through what that looks like. You’ll likely see some more information on that later [this year] or in 2027.”
VanDeWalle adds that it’s too soon to tell what impact the project will have on water rates.
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