Marshfield Utilities will spend $1.3M on temporary fix for PFAS contamination
MADISON − Marshfield Utilities will spend an estimated $1.32 million to get equipment to temporarily treat water for PFAS, according to a notice the utility filed Monday with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin.
This move comes after drinking water samples from its Southside Booster Station tested above Wisconsin Department of Health Services recommended levels for the "forever chemicals" in May.
The utility plans to mount a temporary treatment system in a semitrailer and connect it to the Southside Booster Station where it will treat water from the four wells that contribute water to that station. The cost of the system would include the equipment, screening media, startup and shipping costs.
Marshfield Utilities will use Safe Drinking Water Loan Program funding for emerging contaminants to finance the project. The program offers long-term, low-interest rates to municipalities.
The DNR has reviewed and approved the interim treatment plan.
Typically, expenditures of this magnitude require Public Service Commission preapproval, but this project falls under the exemption for acquisition of vehicles or other movable equipment, according to Marshfield Utilities Water Manager John Richmond's notice to the commission.
Marshfield Utilities shut down the Southside Booster Station after the May tests detected the elevated levels of PFAS in some wells.
PFAS levels at the utility's two other entry points in the city that treat and connect to its distribution system did not test at levels that were of health concern, Marshfield Utilities said in a May news release.
“Obviously, we’d like the tests to indicate undetectable amounts (of PFAS and PFOS),” Richmond said.
Meanwhile, the city's water needs have been served by its other wells since May, which have adequately met daily demand, Richmond said.
Marshfield Utilities has looked for the source of PFAS in the city’s drinking water but hasn’t discovered anything conclusive, he said.
Marshfield Utilities' temporary system would be operated for up to five years while the utility designs and builds a permanent treatment system at the same location, Richmond wrote to the Public Service Commission. Richmond anticipates bidding the temporary treatment equipment in May or June, and he hopes to have the system operating by late summer or early fall.
Construction of the permanent treatment system is estimated to begin in 2027 and be completed in 2028.
“The goal (of the temporary treatment system) is to reduce any PFAS in the water to nearly zero or to undetectable levels,” Richmond said.
PFAS − or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances − are a family of man-made chemicals used for their water- and stain-resistant qualities in products like clothing and carpet, nonstick cookware, packaging and firefighting foam. The family includes 5,000 compounds that are widely referred to as "forever chemicals" because they break down slowly and remain both in the environment and the human body over time.
The chemicals have been linked to types of kidney and testicular cancers, lower birth weights, harm to immune and reproductive systems, altered hormone regulation and altered thyroid hormones. The chemicals enter the human body largely through drinking water.
The compounds have been found in a number of Wisconsin communities over the last several years in addition to Marshfield, including Marinette, Peshtigo, Wausau, Eau Claire, Milwaukee, Madison, La Crosse and Mosinee.
More:Marshfield Jimmy John's opening delayed due to power issues
More:When will Five Below open store in redeveloped Marshfield Mall?