On March 25, 2021, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) issued an interim area-wide drinking water advisory [PDF], allowing the DNR to provide temporary emergency water to residents with private wells on French Island who are not currently receiving water from the city of La Crosse.
Given this interim area-wide drinking water advisory, the state is taking the following steps to aid in providing safe drinking water to those residents with private drinking water supplies with known and suspected PFAS contamination.
1. Providing Carryout Cases of Bottled Water. Prior to temporary emergency water agreements being in place, immediate access to bottled water is being made available through donations from local businesses. Cases will be available for pick-up from 3-6 p.m. on Thursday, March 25, 2021, at the following two locations.
Any surplus bottled water will be distributed at a date and time to be announced in the future.
2. Providing Bottled Water To Homes. For those residents with private water supplies, the DNR will provide the option of bottled water to be delivered in five gallon containers to those residents’ homes, through a state contract with Culligan. The DNR would need the residents to sign up for this service though the DNR and sign an access agreement with the state and vendor to begin receiving water in the coming week. Residents should not contact Culligan directly if they are requesting the state to pay for the bottled water.
To request a temporary alternative water supply from the DNR, please fill out an Agreement for Requesting Temporary Emergency Water [PDF] and send to DNRCampbellPFAS@wisconsin.gov or:
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Jenna Soyer – RR/5
PO Box 7923
Madison WI 53703
The Town of Campbell will make physical forms available at the town hall. The town will scan and email agreements to the DNR. The town hall can be accessed Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.; Tuesday 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.; and Friday 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Be sure to indicate on the agreement if you need a bottom-loading dispenser. Bottom-loading dispensers are generally provided to those who are unable to lift five gallon jugs.
Residents who are currently paying for their own bottled-water service should also fill out and submit an agreement in order to have the DNR take over coordination and payments of their service.
3. Sampling a Subset of Private Water Supply Wells. The DNR and its contractor are evaluating the available information – including existing private sampling results and location of over 90 additional wells sampled to date – to develop a sampling plan for a subset of French Island’s private water supply wells. Based on sampling results, the state will determine whether to continue or modify the interim, area-wide drinking water advisory for PFAS. This effort will take up to 90 days. For those whose wells will be sampled as part of this focused investigation, DNR and its contractor, Wood Environmental, will be contacting selected residents for access.