Reserve officer Taylor Rakes with the Town of Campbell Police and other town personnel, distribute bottled water to residents Thursday at Olivet Lutheran Church on French Island. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Health Services has issued a temporary drinking water advisory for the island due to concerns over PFAS contamination in private wells.
An additional city of La Crosse well on French Island has been found to be contaminated with PFAS, the city utility office announced Thursday evening, though it will stay online for emergency use this summer.
Well 26, located northwest of the La Crosse Regional Airport, was found to have levels of PFAS between 2-13 parts-per-trillion, which are below the state’s current standards. The well is “presumed not to be a health hazard.”
This is the third city well near the airport to be found polluted with the group of “forever chemicals.” It was first tested in 2014, when contamination was found in Wells 23 and 24 and taken offline. At the time, Well 26’s results were “below the detection level” of the test, though.
Several years ago, two water wells near the La Crosse Regional Airport were found to be contaminated by a group of "forever chemicals" known as PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Now, officials are beginning to test wells downstream to better understand how far the contamination has spread.
But as new contamination is being found all over French Island, including nearly 200 private drinking water wells, some near Well 26, the city was prompted to test again before it was brought online for the summer.
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The well was tested on March 9, and results are “similar” to the findings in nearby private wells, the city said.
Well 26 is used only during times of high demand, the city said, typically in the summer, and hasn’t been used since summer 2020. But with two wells already shut down because of contamination, the city will still plan to use it if necessary.
“With both Well 23 and 24 out of service, the utility has very little excess pumping capacity left in the system. Regardless, the utility does not intend to use Well 26 unless there is no other way to provide service,” the La Crosse water utility said in its statement.
“Future scenarios that may necessitate using Well 26 include system flushing, high water demand by the fire department during a fire, a breakdown or required maintenance at other wells in the system, or very high demand periods such as those that occur in extended periods of dry summer heat waves,” it said.
The city is sharing its findings with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and is testing Well 26 a second time to ensure safety if it needs to be used in the coming months.
IN PHOTOS: Local community members wear face masks (copy)
Holmen, Wis.
Three Holmen best friends show of their masks.
Jim Falls, Wis.
My granddaughter Johana and I - Getting through COVID-19 pandemic - "We can do it!"
La Crescent, MInn.
This is my 3 year old son Julian. I like to get my kids their favorite color and/or character to make it a little more fun to wear.
Working at the Tomah VA serving our Veterans during this pandemic!
In My Family We all Wear Our Masks Cindy And Baby V
mask made by fellow West Salem High School chemistry teacher
La Crosse punk
"My band had some masks printed to add to our merchandise line-up! Zammek - La Crosse Punk"
Lace for a lady
Caring for the community
A retired state social worker and her daughter who is a public school teacher say, “wearing masks when out and about is a simple and loving thing to do for your community.”
A mask with bling
Fancy that - a mask with bling!
Dinner guests
Having dinner guests together at home. Left to right, Don Smith, Mary Rohrer, and Nancy Korn Smith. We asked our readers to show off their masks for all to see. Use a form at https://go.lacrossetribune.com/Photos and send photos our way. We’ll put them in galleries that we will share on social media, and we’ll publish some of them in our papers.
A Friendly smile
"I intended this to my likeness and a friendly everyday mask. I was disappointed when i received it. Frankly, it's ridiculous...so I'll give readers a good laugh."
October 6: GIrls WIAA Division 2 sectional golf
Aquinas’ Alexis Smith hits an approach shot at the WIAA Division 2 girls golf sectional at Drugan’s Castle Mound in Holmen.
October 2: Edgar vs Onalaska
The Onalaska dance team performs at halftime.
October 2: Edgar vs Onalaska
Masked spectators watch the game.
September 22: Aquinas vs Onalaska
JB Weiser makes a save for Aquinas.
September 17: Westby vs Aquinas
Aquinas’ Lauren Kelsey, left, and Victoria Nolte attempt a block on Westby’s Macy Stellner.
September 17: Westby vs Aquinas
Aquinas’ Victoria Nolte serves.
September 17: Westby vs Aquinas
The Westby tem celebrates a point won.
Holmen school lunches
Heather Mathwig, right, and Analise Smith with the Holmen School District Nutrition Department bag individual pizzas at Holmen Middle School.
Noodles & Company
Menche Evans cooks in the kitchen at the new Noodles & Company in Onalaska.
September 10: Dover-Eyota vs. La Crescent-Hokah
La Crescent-Hokah girls soccer head coach Jake Smith talks with player Olivia Meyer.
Onalaska Football
Onalaska head coach Tom Yashinsky runs football practice.
College during COVID
Western Technical College student Emery Thompson has his temperature taken by human resources department employee Jackie Kettner before entering the bookstore.
College during COVID
Face mask wearing students walk to and from classes on the first day of the fall semester on the UW-La Crosse campus.
Vice President Pence at Dairyland
Attendees give applause during the "A Stronger America Workforce" event at Dairyland Power Cooperative.
Vice President Pence at Dairyland
A woman in attendance for the "A Stronger America Workforce" event at Dairyland Power Cooperative with Vice President Mike Pence wears a patriotic facemask.
Scooping up smiles
Marty Diersen with the Sweet Shop hands a cone to Joy Benson, a member of Logan High School’s class of 1969, dressed as the children’s book character Raggedy Ann.
