Wausau Water Works Commission Continuing to Explore Funding Options for Carbon Filtration System

Monday, July 11th, 2022 -- 10:00 AM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) The Wausau Water Works Commission is continuing to explore funding options for the instillation of a 16 million dollar granular activated carbon filtration system at the new drinking water treatment plant.

According to Mike Leischner of WSAU, Mayor Katie Rosenberg said, “We know that we will have some sources of monies from unforgivable loans, maybe some federally directed spending that we’re really hoping for, crossing our fingers, and some other places to find that money.”

She says the absolute last resort is going back to the rate payers for another increase, but if that happens it will be through the public service commission process. “These things, we don’t just get to decide to raise rates. We have to go to the state’s Public Service Commission and go through that whole process. And there’s a public hearing and all that. So, it will be very out in the open. Everyone is going to know what’s going on.”

She says the city's financial planners are working behind the scenes on the issue, because some of the money won't be available immediately. “We’re probably going to have to figure out how to fund that gap and that’s what we’re working on right now. It probably includes some borrowing, but we’re really hoping that everything we can do, we won’t have to go back to the ratepayers again and ask about ‘how do we fund this?’

She says this is an incident where ARPA funding could come in handy. “And again, like the ARPA funding, it’s really good that we have it. I’m hoping that we’ll be able to make some really sound financial choices in the future.”

Wausau's new drinking water treatment plant will be online in the next few weeks with an ion exchange system that will decrease PFAS contamination to about 12 parts per trilling, the granular activated carbon system will take another two years to install but will remove those chemicals down to non-detectable levels and put the utility in position to better handle other contaminates should they be discovered.

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