Drinking Water Still In Peril From WWII Army Factory

A shuttered army factory that began operations during World War II remains a major polluter of Wisconsin groundwater.

Badger Army Ammunition Plant “was a military installation built in 1942 on more than 7,000 acres near Baraboo. The plant was owned and operated by the U.S. government to produce smokeless gunpowder for rockets, cannons and small arms used in World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. It operated on and off for 33 years,” the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism recently reported.

“During its operation, the plant pumped excess chemicals and millions of gallons of wastewater into Lake Wisconsin and burned toxic substances in large pits on the site, leaving the soil, surface and groundwater contaminated with a dangerous stew of chemicals, including some known or likely to cause cancer,” the report said.

The Army has doled out $125 million to clean up contamination, but locals like Mary Jane Koch are still feeling the effects of the problem. “Koch stopped drinking the water in her home 11 years ago, shortly after an industrial compound turned up in the well supplying drinking water to her home,” the report said.

Now the army is working to help 400 households affected by the contamination. The plan is to install a water system that delivers tap water not reliant on tainted local groundwater. In June, as a first step, a new water district and water district governing board were created in the area, according to Capital Newspapers.

“U.S. Army representative Mike Sitton said the information of the water district starts the process of applying for the funding of the construction of a public water system, and gives the green light to start what he said could be a long approval process. Costs for the construction of the system two years ago were estimated at $20 to $30 million,” the report said.

“There are a lot of different actions that have to be carried out,” Sitton said. “The design of the system first has to be approved by the [the state]. Then we have to go to the Public Service Commission twice — the first time is the authority to build the utility, and the second time for a rate setting.”

For similar stories, visit Water Online’s Source Water Contamination Solutions Center.