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Marshfield board accepts 2024 wastewater compliance report; no permit exceedances
Summary
The Board of Public Works on June 17 accepted Marshfield’s 2024 Compliance Maintenance Annual Report for the wastewater treatment division, which showed no permit exceedances and introduced new WPDES requirements including PFAS testing and upcoming phosphorus mass limits.
The Marshfield Board of Public Works on June 17 voted to accept the city’s 2024 Compliance Maintenance Annual Report for the wastewater treatment division and authorized staff to submit the report to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
The report, presented by Mark Lehi, wastewater superintendent, documents that the treatment plant met all current permit limits, generated no demerit points and received an overall grade of A and a GPA of 4. It also describes new Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit requirements the city must follow through the permit period that runs to March 31, 2029.
The WPDES permit, effective May 1, 2024, adds an ammonia removal limit for April and May, requires PFAS testing of effluent every two months and of biosolids once per year, requires total daily influent flow reporting in addition to effluent flow reporting, removes a mercury variance because of long-term mercury reductions, and establishes total daily mass load limits for phosphorus that take effect May 1, 2026. Lehi told the board the plant is undertaking a solids/effluent filtration upgrade to meet upcoming phosphorus limits and that project is about 75% complete.
Lehi said the plant’s average monthly flows were well under the plant’s 4,630,000 gallons-per-day design capacity and that the system treated just over 1,000,000,000 gallons in 2024. About 48,000,000 gallons, or nearly 5% of that total, came from hauled waste. On biosolids, the city applied material to 331 acres in 2024 and reported producing 6,200,000 gallons of biosolids; the biosolids meet high-quality Class B standards. The DNR requires at least 180 days of onsite biosolids storage; Marshfield reported about 234 days of storage capacity.
On staffing and certification, Lehi said the plant was fully staffed in 2024 with a designated operator in charge (Lehi) and multiple certified backup operators. On financial reserves, the DNR recommends an equipment replacement account balance of $1,284,000; Marshfield reported $3,566,000 in that account at the end of 2024.
When a board member asked about PFAS sampling and what would happen if results were positive, Lehi said, “We have been testing since this permit was implemented at, the fifth month of last year. So we've got, 5 of the 2 month effluent samples under our belts, and they have all consistently shown very, very low levels. Not a concerning level at all at this point.” Lehi added that the city has completed one solids test, which also showed very low levels.
Following the presentation and questions, the board approved Resolution 2025-18 accepting the 2024 Compliance Maintenance Annual Report and directing staff to submit it to the Wisconsin DNR. The action was taken by voice vote; the motion carried.
The accepted report will be filed with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as required under the WPDES permit.
