By Shereen Siewert
Three weeks after Weston took one well offline due to PFAS detected in the water, the village shut down another well and is asking residents to voluntarily reduce some uses to allow officials to meet consumer demand this summer.
Well 4 was taken offline June 21 in response to a June 2 sample for Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the water system, which had previously shown to be impacted by the so-called forever chemicals. Well 3 has been offline since May 27.
The village issued a notice Thursday to inform residents of the latest developments.
“Results received on June 16, 2022 indicated PFAS detected in Well 4 were found to be above health-based advisory levels recommended by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS),” the notice reads.
After consultation with Department of Natural Resources and Department of Health Services, the Village will take additional steps.
The Village Board approved temporary treatments to remove PFAS at Well 4 which are expected to be active by August.
Officials say the temporary treatment process will allow the Village to put Well 4 back in operation, supplying water with PFAS levels below DHS health advisory levels.
The Village requests residents voluntarily reduce lawn watering this summer due to Wells 3 and 4 being offline. Officials can meet customers’ normal water demands for domestic use such as cooking, drinking and washing from the remaining three wells, but increased use for lawn watering in the summer season could force the utility to put Well 3 or 4 back in operation before the temporary treatment is active.
The most recent sample analyses can be found on Village of Weston’s website: www.westonwi.gov/pfas.
“We continue to work on long-term solutions to achieve PFAS levels below the current DHS health advisory levels of 20 parts per trillion from Wells 3 and 4,” a notice from Village Administrator Keith Donner stated. “Planning is underway for the removal of PFAS from water supplied by Wells 3 and 4 using Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) at our existing treatment plant. Construction of Wells 7 and 8 will be starting this summer. The new wells should be supplying water in early 2023, completing a process which began several years prior to the recent findings of PFAS in the water system.”
Water supplied to Weston Water Utility customers continues to meet existing drinking water standards and is below the DHS PFAS health advisory level.
