Environment
Nearly half of tested wells on French Island have “concern” levels of PFAS
The number of private wells showing hazardous levels of PFAS close to the La Crosse Airport continues to grow.
La Crosse County supervisors have learned that nearly half of the 230 wells tested north of the interstate…48 per cent…have PFAS levels above the amount which should prevent people from drinking or cooking with the water, leading to what the DNR considers an emergency situation.
Supervisor Margaret Larson says the state DNR has been providing bottled water to those homes.
Larson says the city of La Crosse has not yet tested water near the site of a 1970 plane crash, where high PFAS levels were recently measured.
She also says airport firefighters who used foam containing PFAS could have health problems after their exposure, because they were told the foam was “harmless.”
“They realize they should have been decontaminating after each use, whether it was in a practice fire or addressing the real thing,” said Larson.
The DNR and the city have arranged with a private company to test about 90 more wells on French Island over the next 90 days.