Wisconsin to distribute $273 million to address PFAS, lead in drinking water

Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Updated ·2 min read

MADISON - Wisconsin will distribute more than $273 million to help communities address contaminants in water such as lead and "forever chemicals."

Gov. Tony Evers announced the funding Monday, which will be given to 86 municipalities through the Department of Natural Resources' Safe Drinking Water Program. A portion of the funding is being provided by the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Communities will be able to use the funding to replace lead service lines and filter water supplies for PFAS, which have been found in communities across the state and are costly to treat.

“Across Wisconsin, countless folks and families worry about harmful contaminants like PFAS and lead every time they turn on their tap — and that is a reality we have been working hard to change,” Evers said in a press release, with the Democratic governor crediting the Biden-Harris administration and Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin for advancing the funds as part of the infrastructure law.

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Some of the funding will be given to communities as a grant, meaning it will not have to be repaid. The other money will be provided as a loan with a low interest rate, in hopes of not raising the price for water system customers in the communities.

Here are some of the communities receiving funding:

  • The Town of Campbell: $972,998 to help address PFAS in the private wells on French Island. A portion of the money will be used to replace wells, while the other will be used to begin work on a public drinking water system.

  • The Village of Clinton: $700,300 to treat elevated iron and manganese in one of its wells.

  • Kenosha: more than $7 million to replace lead service lines.

  • Manitowoc: more than $5.5 million to replace lead service lines.

  • Milwaukee: more than $30 million to replace lead service lines.

  • Watertown: more than $14 million to replace lead service line.

Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on X at @SchulteLaura.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin to distribute millions to address water contamination