Wausau is doing the work to counter lead and PFAS. The Biden administration says others should do the same

Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Updated ·4 min read
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WAUSAU - Biden Administration officials praised Wausau this week as an example of how to quickly and aggressively tackle water quality issues, after its work to remove lead pipes and filter "forever chemicals" from its water.

Wausau, under Mayor Katie Rosenberg, has spent several years aggressively seeking federal and state funding and grants to help finance the replacement of lead laterals running into homes and to install a nearly $17 million treatment plant to remove PFAS from the municipal water system.

Tom Perez, a senior advisor to President Joe Biden, visited the city Thursday to see the new water treatment facility and watch as a family turned on their water for the first time after having their lead pipes removed.

"I really think that mayors across not just Wisconsin, but across the country, are going to be calling the mayor of Wausau," Perez said. "To ask her how she did this and how can they can copy you."

Tom Perez, an advisor to President Joe Biden, center, tours the drinking water treatment facility in Wausau, Wis., on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023. The city is building a new water treatment system to address PFAS and other “forever chemicals.” The $16.8 million treatment system will allow the city to run its drinking water through a series of carbon filters — known as granulated activated carbon, or GAC — effectively removing not only PFAS, but many other contaminants, according to Eric Lindman, the city's public works director.

Wausau is set to receive about $5.8 million for lead service line replacements, which will speed up the replacement of the remaining 8,000 lead service lines. Instead of taking about 15 years, it will take six or seven.

Wisconsin is also one of four states participating in a federal lead accelerator program, giving Wausau access to greater resources through the program.

More: Wausau has 'forever chemicals' throughout its water system. What the city does next could set a blueprint for other cities

The program provides targeted technical assistance services to help communities better understand the grant application process when seeking money from the federal government to address lead laterals. The program is being run by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Labor and will provide assistance to 40 communities across the country, including 10 in Wisconsin, including Wausau and Milwaukee.

Tom Perez, an advisor to President Joe Biden, joins Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg and Miles Guerrero, 3, during a media event Thursday, November 9, 2023 to turn on the water at the home of Miles’ great-grandmother. The home’s old water service line was replaced with a lead-free connection in Wausau, Wisconsin. Perez was in town to highlight actions taken by President Biden’s administration for clean drinking water.

Lead poisoning can bring lifelong consequences, especially for young children. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported in 2018 that 9.2% of children age 5 or younger in Milwaukee have elevated blood lead levels.

That's why it's so important to address, Perez said.

"People take water for granted, and they shouldn't, because it should be a fundamental right that you move into a house or apartment or wherever you're living and turn on the water and you're not doing harm to yourself or your loved ones," Perez, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said during a roundtable of water quality leaders in Wausau.

He said the funding secured for water infrastructure in particular has been huge, the largest since at least whewn Dwight D. Eisenhower was president in the 1950s.

"If you are in local government, the last two years and the coming two years are going to be the biggest moments of opportunity in your political lifetime," he said. "You will never have more opportunity because this president has invested more."

'We just need to keep this up'

Tom Perez, an advisor to President Joe Biden, center, examines corrosion control treatment testing while touring the drinking water treatment facility Thursday, November 9, 2023 in Wausau, Wisconsin. The city is building a new water treatment system to address PFAS and other “forever chemicals.” The $16.8 million treatment system will allow the city run its drinking water through a series of carbon filters — known as granulated activated carbon, or GAC — effectively removing not only PFAS, but many other contaminants, according to Eric Lindman, the city's public works director.

Wausau has one of the most extensive PFAS contaminations in the state, with all of its drinking water wells impacted by the chemicals. To combat the issue, the city is working to install a granulated carbon filtration system, which is currently the best way to extract PFAS from water.

But that system comes at a steep cost to the city.

The city council recently approved borrowing $17.5 million to finance a treatment system that will be installed over the course of the next year. The city also distributed hundreds of thousands of dollars of bottled water and filtration pitchers to residents after the contamination was found in January 2022.

The city is set to receive more than $17 million in Emerging Contaminant funding from the federal government to address PFAS, which is greatly cutting down the amount that will fall to the city's taxpayers and water users.

Rosenberg has courted lawmakers at the state and federal level to help lock in funding so that ratepayers in Wausau didn't end up fronting the entire cost of the PFAS filtration system. That's helped the city secure the funding it needed, Perez said.

"Here in Wausau, the commitment has been made, and I'm confident they will reach it to eliminate PFAS here by October of 24." Perez said. "That's less than a year from now. That is a remarkable pace. But frankly, we need to make sure we were doing this everywhere."

More: Milwaukee to receive $30 million for lead service line replacement as part of statewide clean water push

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

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Biden advisor visit highlights Wausau to tout efforts on water quality