Wisconsin announces 1st $460K in PFAS remediation grants for small water systems

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin awarded $460,000 in grants to help small water systems with issues related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in small communities.

The grants will go to a Westwind Estates well replacement in Adams County ($234,423), Lakewood village well replacement ($178,800), well for Roger’s Behavioral Health in Waukesha County ($35,958) and water treatment for manganese at Sugar Camp Elementary School in Oneida County.

The grants are federally funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and are part of what is expected to be $2.3 million in grants through the program’s Round 1. Applications for the second round of grants open on Oct. 1 with $5 million expected to be awarded for applications due before June 30, 2025.

Other-than-municipal community and nonprofit non-transient non-community public water systems with eligible levels of PFAS or manganese may apply to the program.

“These contaminants can be detrimental to health, especially for our kids, and these funds will help reach water systems that are otherwise left behind and help us continue our work to ensure Wisconsinites have access to clean, safe water at home, at school, at work, and everywhere in between,” Gov. Tony Evers said in an announcement along with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The state recently proposed new rules to meet the requirements of the EPA’s Final PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation, released in April, which gives public water systems until 2029 to implement solutions to reduce elevated PFAS levels found in drinking water.