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Consultants propose on-site reverse-osmosis leachate treatment for Adams County landfill
Summary
Consultants told the Adams County Solid Waste Committee that a reverse-osmosis system would allow on-site treatment and discharge of landfill leachate, remove PFAS and ammonia, cut hauling costs and support a Clean Water Fund loan application due Sept. 30, 2026.
Consultants presenting a facility plan at the Aug. 11 public hearing said an on-site reverse-osmosis (RO) leachate treatment plant would reduce off-site hauling and position Adams County to meet emerging PFAS and ammonia requirements.
"But up to about 34,000 gallons per day of leachate is generated at the Adams County Sanitary Landfill," consultant Kirsty Shuri of Tetra Tech said, describing current storage-and-haul operations. Shuri said most municipal wastewater treatment plants do not treat PFAS and that recent Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources guidance is driving restrictions that increase hauling distances and costs. The facility plan recommends RO as the most economical option to treat a wide range of contaminants, including ammonia and PFAS, with removal rates the consultants described as "upwards of 99%."
The presenters described alternatives considered in the facility plan: no action (ruled out), limited on-site pretreatment with continued off-site disposal, a regional alternative (not viable because no regional PFAS-capable facility exists), and full on-site treatment with on-site discharge (the recommended approach). The RO option would allow permeate (treated effluent) to be discharged on-site through a subsurface absorption system under permit limits, while the concentrate would be recirculated into the landfill. Consultants said membranes have a useful life of roughly three to seven years and cited other landfills operating RO systems for 15–20 years without documented breakthrough problems.
The presenters also reviewed permitting and schedule: Adams County submitted an intent to apply to the Wisconsin DNR last October and submitted the facility plan in March; the final Clean Water Fund application is due Sept. 30, 2026, and the DNR decision could come this winter. Consultants said construction could begin in fall 2028 and finish in spring 2029, subject to permitting and financing.
Public questions at the hearing focused on long-term regulatory uncertainty, disposal of RO residuals and membrane replacement schedules; consultants answered that residuals would be managed within the landfill and that an operating WPDES permit would set discharge limits for the permeate.
