Read the full article by Jeff Dahdah (Spectrum News 1)
“LA CROSSE, Wis. — The City of La Crosse is offering well tests to residents downstream of the La Crosse Regional Airport after two municipal wells and several groundwater samples tested for levels of a manmade set of chemicals called Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, or PFAS.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources ordered La Crosse to investigate PFAS contamination near the airport after a municipal well tested for PFAS levels in 2014 and 2016.
An environmental consulting group investigated groundwater near the airport and found PFAS at various levels in the groundwater at five sites. They were all sites PFAS foam was either used or stored.
Because of the presence of PFAS, the City is reaching out to residents in the Town of Campbell downstream of the airport.
‘As an effort to learn the extent of this contamination and to work as quickly and as effectively as we can to protect the public’s safety, we are offering to test all of those private wells within that neighborhood,’ said Tim Kabat, La Crosse’s Mayor.
The city plans to send letters to people in the affected neighborhood requesting permission to test the wells. Kabat said it’s about 120 to 130 homes. Kabat said that is more than the DNR recommended, but the city wanted to use extra caution.
The city plans to start testing as early as next week. They hope to test all the wells that agree within the month. Test results could take about a month to get back. If a well tests above the DNR suggested action level, the City plans on making bottled water available for those houses…”