Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the PFAS Treatment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
PFAS treatment online; Wausau staff outline GAC reactivation, monitoring and permit comment deadlines
Summary
Consultants and staff said the PFAS granular activated carbon system has been operational for over a year, reported equipment fixes and budget status, described a plan to use reactivated carbon to save ~20%, and urged comments on a draft WPDES permit by Dec. 22; testing frequency and potential DNR limits were highlighted.
Donahue Engineering and city staff updated the Wausau Waterworks Commission Dec. 2 on PFAS treatment operations, granular activated carbon (GAC) change-out plans and a draft WPDES permit that imposes PFAS testing requirements and has a public comment deadline later this month.
Susan from Donahue Engineering said the PFAS treatment system has been operational for more than a year and that most construction items are complete. Contractors replaced leaking air-release valves on the GAC vessels at no cost to the city; a small number of valves still require attention. The city plans to coat the GAC floor to reduce future maintenance and to start the process of changing or reactivating carbon.
"The project is up and running," Susan said, adding that vendors in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania will thermally reactivate carbon and that using reactivated carbon can yield about a 20% savings compared with buying new carbon. Consultants said reactivation requires shipping carbon to certified facilities, segregating city loads and replacing vessels with virgin carbon during the process; the estimated total changeout cost has been in the $800,000–$1,000,000 range.
Staff also reviewed a draft WPDES permit received Nov. 3 and said the city has until Dec. 22 at 4:30 p.m. to file factual comments. The draft would require PFAS testing in effluent roughly once every two months and biosolids annually; staff said preliminary tests are well below proposed limits but cautioned that isolated high results could affect DNR calculations ("p99" method) and potentially trigger a pollutant minimization plan.
Project-specific logistics remain: the headworks screening project faces equipment delays, and the Cherry Street Lift Station enclosure is expected Dec. 10. Staff said they will plan the GAC change-out cadence to align with flow and budget cycles.
Commissioners asked about testing frequency, vendor locations, and contingency budgets; staff said they are coordinating logistics with vendors and DNR and will report back as procurement and scheduling are finalized.
