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Wausau utility debates PFAS target, costly GAC change-outs as carbon shows breakthrough
Summary
Wausau staff asked the Waterworks Commission on Aug. 5 to consider an internal trigger for replacing granular activated carbon used to remove PFAS after sampling showed early PFOA and PFOS breakthrough.
Wausau staff asked the Waterworks Commission on Aug. 5 to consider an internal trigger for replacing granular activated carbon (GAC) used to remove PFAS from drinking water, after monthly sampling showed early breakthrough of PFOA and PFOS in the plant's lead vessels.
Staff said the city’s treatment system — 12 tall GAC vessels operating in lead‑lag pairs — has been online a little over nine months and that monitoring shows PFOA and PFOS as the primary compounds of concern. City consultants presented graphs tracking concentrations through sample ports in each vessel and predicted some vessels could reach regulatory thresholds in months, not years.
The commission’s recommendation matters because three separate standards influence the utility’s response: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and PFOS; the Wisconsin Department of…
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