Wausau mayor says Public Works director misled on PFAS contamination; he calls accusations 'ridiculous'
WAUSAU – Mayor Katie Rosenberg had a simple answer to the question of whether an email she received from Public Works Director Eric Lindman regarding "forever chemicals," or PFAS, in the city's water last year was misleading.
"Yes," she wrote in an email to the Wausau Daily Herald on Friday.
In a 2021 email provided to the Daily Herald by the nonprofit Midwest Environmental Advocates from Lindman to Katie Rosenberg and a Wausau resident, Lindman told Rosenberg and the resident that PFAS levels in the city's wells had last tested below both the limits advised by the Environmental Protection Agency and proposed limits by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
In fact, the 2019 round of testing Lindman was referring to had revealed five of the six city wells had levels of PFAS higher than the proposed limits by the DNR.
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The federal government does not regulate PFAS but the EPA suggests limits of 70 parts per trillion, and the DNR is considering setting a limit of 20 parts per trillion.
"We are well below either of these," Lindman wrote in the email.
In a late Friday news release, Lindman fired back at those accusing of him withholding information about the "forever chemicals" from the public, calling such charges "ridiculous." His statement did not name the mayor. It was sent to media outlets minutes after the Daily Herald first reported Rosenberg's comments.
"With PFAS, there is neither regulations, clear guidance or clear messaging from regulatory authorities and this has created some fear and unknowns within the community," Lindman wrote. "I live and work in Wausau and my entire family continues to drink and use Wausau tap water, absolutely!!!"
On Wednesday, Wausau Water Works said in a news release that all six of the municipal drinking water wells in Wausau had tested above the proposed DNR limit for PFAS in its most recent round of testing in January.
The wells tested between 23 and 48 parts per trillion, with levels rising in all wells since the 2019 tests.
Wausau Water Works serves 16,000 properties in the city, which is home to just under 40,000 residents. The city was notified in late January of the most recent testing results.
In an email response to the Daily Herald, Rosenberg said she was not aware of the elevated PFAS numbers in 2019 until January either.
"I was aware that the city tested for PFAS in 2019 under the previous administration. However I hadn’t seen the results until early January at an internal meeting after a late December request from the Wisconsin DNR to voluntarily test Wausau’s wells," she wrote.
Regarding Lindman's email, she said, "The City is investigating staff communication and handing of PFAS testing, and we will be identifying and implementing improvement protocols."
In his news release Friday, Lindman said he's spent his career ensuring public water is safe for consumption and took credit for beginning to advocate for a new treatment facility in Wausau in 2016, built to anticipate future contaminants. The city is building the facility now.
"Here we are 5 years later we have one of these contaminants before us today with absolutely no regulation or guidance from regulatory agencies but the City is moving forward with a plan of action on our own," Lindman wrote.
His news release, however, did not directly address the email he sent to Rosenberg and the resident last year, to explain why he said PFAS samples were below the state recommended limit. Lindman did not return messages from the Daily Herald seeking an explanation.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are 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 of chemicals includes 5,000 compounds that can remain in the environment and human body over time.
Entering the body largely through drinking water, PFAS have been linked to kidney and testicular cancers, lower birth weights, harm to immune and reproductive systems, altered hormone regulation and altered thyroid hormones.
Rosenberg said in a press conference on Wednesday that the city was looking at options to reduce residents' exposure to PFAS including a study that will evaluate three ways to remove PFAS from the water during treatment and providing bottled water to residents.
"My goal is for the Wausau Water Works Commission and Wausau City Council to have a variety of options to consider as short-term and long-term solutions," she wrote in an email to the Daily Herald.
"Every option has a cost and the council will need to decide what they are willing to spend and do in response."
Renee Hickman is a Report For America corps member based at the Wausau Daily Herald covering rural issues in Wisconsin. Contact at rhickman@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter at @ReneeNHickman. Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to this reporting effort at WausauDailyHerald.com/RFA.