WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The Wausau Finance Committee and City Council have approved spending up to $150,000 on bottled water and in-home filtration systems for those concerned about PFAS levels in the city’s drinking water.
Finance Committee Chair Lisa Rasmussen said those solutions represent the quickest solution for customers. Adding trust in the city’s water system has been eroding since elevated levels of the so-called forever chemicals were found in all six city wells.
“What we have is a crisis of confidence in our utility,” said Rasmussen. “Even if it’s a percentage of our users; we should not dismiss those concerns. People who are concerned, are genuinely concerned.”
Rasmussen says she hasn’t taken many complaints from overly concerned citizens, but Council President Becky McElhaney painted a different picture.
“They don’t care that anybody says it’s safe, they don’t believe it’s safe,” said McElhaney. “I have been taking calls from residents I don’t ever hear from. Somebody went to a restaurant and the [wait staff] said ‘do you want some of the poisoned water, or do you want a soda?’ This is happening in our city. There is a confidence problem.”
McElhaney added that her new employer shut off all water fountains shortly after the PFAS announcement.
Wausau’s drinking water remains safe to use but the utility and the state have suggested residents reduce consumption due to the health risks associated with PFAS. The city announced the issue during a press conference earlier this year and posted information about the chemicals along with recommendations for removal on its website.
Wausau’s water remains below the current federal recommendation of 70 PPT but above other proposed standards of 20 PPT. Rasmussen noted that many believe the US EPA will eventually lower their standards to the 20 PPT mark, recommended to protect the most vulnerable populations from building up a dangerous level of the chemicals in their body, especially infants and children.
Another option considered was the installation of a temporary filtration system at the current drinking water treatment plant, which will be retired this summer. That would come with a multi-million dollar price tag; installation could take months.
The proposal was initially brought to the committee and council as a $13,000 expenditure for just bottled water but was amended to up to $150,000 in ARPA funding for both bottled water and in-home filters. Bottled water will continue to be distributed by The Neighbor’s Place and available for all Wausau water customers; it’s unclear when the city could have in-home filters available for distribution.
The Council also approved spending another $240,000 in ARPA funding for the pilot study to determine which filtration systems and processes will work best to remove the PFAS from the city’s water supply. Public Works Director Eric Lindman, Mayor Katie Rosenberg, and others have said they don’t want the PFAS to be an issue when the new plant comes online this summer.
