Wisconsin to get $139 million for lead pipes, PFAS from federal government
MADISON - Wisconsin will receive nearly $139 million in federal funding to upgrade drinking water infrastructure across the state, including replacing lead pipes and addressing "forever chemical" concerns.
The money, expected to come in October, will go to communities that submit applications for drinking water system upgrades this year, said Jim Ritchie, the Department of Natural Resources director of community financial assistance.
The funding is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.
“Every Wisconsinite needs to know that when they turn on their faucet, clean and safe water is coming out, and because of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that I voted for, we are one step closer to that becoming a reality,” U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin said in a press release Wednesday.
"Today’s announcement is a huge step forward to helping ensure Wisconsin families have safe drinking water and that we are supporting Wisconsin workers and companies when we do it.”
The Biden administration announced $6.5 billion in funding from the Infrastructure Act to address drinking water infrastructure across the country Tuesday and said that, in particular, the funding will target lead laterals and PFAS issues.
More: Wisconsin receives $600,000 to test for 'forever chemicals' in drinking water
“Every community deserves access to safe, clean drinking water,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said. “We have an unprecedented opportunity to revitalize America’s drinking water systems, support the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of removing 100% of lead pipes across our country, and protect communities from PFAS pollution.”
In Wisconsin, much of the money will likely be used to address PFAS and lead, the DNR's Ritchie said.
"Those are two of the specific categories of funding that comes with this from from the federal government," he said, "in addition to more traditional drinking water projects, like improvements at drinking water treatment facilities, construction of municipal wells or treatment treatment systems at those municipal wells."
The money is going to help communities speed up their water infrastructure improvement plans, he said, in part because some of it will be in forgivable loans, meaning communities won't have to pay the money back.
PFAS upgrades likely to be expensive
The funding announcement comes on the heels of the Environmental Protection Agency's announcement last month of suggested regulations for PFAS.
The agency suggested rules for two of the most common chemicals in the PFAS family of compounds — PFOA and PFOS — at a limit of 4 parts per trillion in drinking water.
By contrast, Wisconsin implemented standards for drinking water at 70 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS last year. Those limits matched the federal guidance put in place in 2016, but hadn't been updated to reflect the emerging science.
To meet those standards, many municipalities would likely have to install some type of treatment system or filtration, which will cost money for those who purchase water from the utility. Wausau, for example, where all of the city's municipal wells have elevated levels of PFAS, is estimating a $16 million cost for a PFAS treatment system.
Wisconsin already requires testing for all public water systems and recommends that any system found to have PFAS at any level should notify water users.
The state doesn't have regulations for groundwater, but the Department of Natural Resources this year began the three-year rulemaking process to establish those. Standards were proposed previously but were voted down by the Natural Resources Board in early 2022 after a disagreement over what level of PFAS should be permitted.
In addition to PFAS, a number of Wisconsin communities are still struggling to replace their lead lateral lines. In total, Wisconsin has an estimated 200,000 lead laterals. In Milwaukee alone, there are nearly 70,000.
Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on Twitter at @SchulteLaura.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin to get $139 million for lead pipes, PFAS from feds
