Wisconsin Gives ‘Positive Assessment' To Water Utilities

Wisconsin provided “a positive assessment” of its public water utilities in a sweeping report released on July 29, according to an analysis from WisContext.

“Coliform bacteria, nitrates, and radium remain the most widespread contaminants, but 94.6 percent of municipal water samples tested in 2015 met the health standards the [state] enforces under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act,” the analysis said.

The report also provided statewide data on contaminant testing and compliance violations, a summary of enforcement actions, and data on loans to utilities.

"Twenty-two communities received more than $35 million in assistance for drinking water system infrastructure improvements, of which $32.9 million was low interest loans. These low interest loans can provide a cost savings of up to 30 percent of communities, enabling them to address challenges more quickly and economically,” the state’s report said.

Financial difficulties did not impede public water systems from a “strong” showing last year, the state said in its report.

“Despite economic challenges, public water systems continued their strong performance, with over 96 percent (11,036 of 11,470 systems) meeting all health-based standards. These systems had no water samples exceeding health-based standards for regulated contaminants. That is a slight improvement over what Wisconsin's public water systems achieved in 2014,” the report from the state said.

The report showed that contaminations challenges, and the treatment methods used to address them, vary starkly from region to region.

“Large areas of eastern and western Wisconsin have a karst geology in which groundwater can be particularly vulnerable to contaminants running off from farms and roads. Other parts of the state contend with natural deposits of dangerous chemicals like arsenic and radium — the latter being one reason that the city of Waukesha sought and successfully acquired access to Lake Michigan's water through the Great Lakes Compact,” the report said.

Wisconsin underwent an intense debate over privatizing water utilities this year. Legislation that would have made it easier for private companies to buy utilities was ultimately scrapped, according to the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.

To read more about whether or not utilities are meeting regulatory requirements visit Water Online’s Drinking Water Regulations And Legislation Solutions Center.