44% of Eau Claire Wells Closed With PFAS Contamination
City closes seven out of 16 wells after testing for the harmful chemicals.
Nearly half of Eau Claire’s city wells have been shut down due to concerns over PFAS contamination.
In July, the city announced four of its 16 wells had been taken offline after testing showed PFAS levels exceeded the combined groundwater standard of 20 parts per trillion that’s recommended by state health officials. Now, the city has voluntarily stopped using three more wells after additional testing showed a mix of PFAS chemicals that are concerning to state health officials.
PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of thousands of so-called “forever chemicals” that are found in firefighting foam and everyday products. They’ve raised concerns because they’ve been linked to increased risk of kidney and testicular cancers, thyroid disease and fertility issues. The chemicals don’t break down easily in the environment.
Recent sampling of five wells that were taken offline showed levels of PFAS ranging from 21.3 to 70 parts per trillion, exceeding the state’s combined groundwater standard recommended for six PFAS chemicals. Four more wells tested above the state’s health hazard index for PFAS, which measures public health concern related to a mix of PFAS chemicals in the water.
Multiple federal agencies use a hazard index to assess health risks associated with compounds like PFAS, including the Environmental Protection Agency. Dr. Sarah Yang, groundwater toxicologist for the Department of Health Services, said being exposed to multiple PFAS substances at once can pose a health risk.
“We can’t say for certain that people are going to get sick from that water. It’s just a level at which we want people or, in this case, like the water utilities to take additional action to reduce PFAS exposure,” said Yang.
Eau Claire Utilities Manager Lane Berg said water that’s been distributed to customers has never exceeded the state’s recommended standard. The city is now pumping around 5 million gallons of water per day from three wells into two lagoons to prevent pollution from migrating to unaffected wells.
“By shutting those northernmost wells off, the PFAS started to migrate to the south to our wells that were initially lower level,” said Berg.
Berg said early results indicate pumping has brought the hazard index down in wells with lower levels of the chemicals. A survey of the area found no homes with private wells that could be impacted by contamination. So far, the city has been able to meet demand for municipal water, which is offered to more than 70,000 residents in the city of Eau Claire and the Town of Washington.
The Wisconsin DNR believes the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport is responsible for PFAS contamination in city wells based on groundwater flow in the area and mandated testing of firefighting foam that contains PFAS at airport facilities. The agency directed the airport to launch an investigation into contamination in August.
The city has hired engineering firm Gannett Fleming to do groundwater modeling, and it’s exploring treatment options for the water utility.
Berg said initial estimates indicate the city will need to spend millions of dollars.
Eau Claire, La Crosse, Rhinelander and Madison are among cities that have shut down municipal wells due to PFAS contamination.
The Municipal Water Coalition, which includes the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, has expressed concerns over the state’s efforts to regulate PFAS, urging the state to wait for federal standards.
“Our water utilities will continue to do the right things for their residents and their customers to keep them safe, but I do think we need to keep in the back of our mind the costs associated with the remediation and then who will be paying those costs,” said Toni Herkert, the League’s government affairs director.
Without programs that provide financial assistance, Herkert noted the cost of treatment would be spread amongst the utility’s ratepayers. The League notes that Wisconsin’s public water supplies are already facing $8.5 billion in infrastructure needs like distribution and treatment.
State environmental regulators have said waiting for federal standards may take up to six years to develop and unnecessarily expose residents to health risks in communities that have been affected by PFAS contamination.
Listen to the WPR report here.
Eau Claire has shut down nearly half its city wells due to PFAS concerns was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
More about the PFAS Problem
- EPA Issues Test Order for PFAS Used in Manufacturing Under National Testing Strategy - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Oct 9th, 2024
- DNR Asks Hunters Near Town Of Stella To Donate Deer Tissue Samples For PFAS Testing - Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources - Oct 3rd, 2024
- Gov. Evers, DNR Announce Nearly $460,000 In Grants Awarded To Small Public Water Systems With PFAS And Manganese Contamination - Gov. Tony Evers - Sep 24th, 2024
- State Supreme Court Agrees to Take WMC Toxic Pollution Case - Midwest Environmental Advocates - Sep 11th, 2024
- 2017 Law Resulting in Long List of Outdated DNR Water Standards - Danielle Kaeding - Sep 5th, 2024
- Murphy’s Law: Is Milorganite Making People Sick? - Bruce Murphy - Sep 4th, 2024
- Wisconsin Seeks To Match PFAS Rules To Federal Regulations - Danielle Kaeding - Aug 27th, 2024
- PFAS in Foam Far Worse Than Water in Wisconsin’s Rivers, Lakes - Danielle Kaeding - Jul 10th, 2024
- Lawmakers At Odds Over Releasing Health, PFAS Funds - Erik Gunn - Jun 6th, 2024
- Wisconsin Senate Votes to Override Governor’s Vetoes - Baylor Spears - May 15th, 2024
Read more about PFAS Problem here
I am sure that the politicians in this area that serve in Madison will ignore or deny this issue while putting their energy in legalizing the hunting of Sandhill Cranes and promoting election fraud. Unfortunately, many of their constituents will continue to vote for them while their children are being poisoned by PFAS.