Waite Park Approves Grant To Help Clean Up Water Supply

WAITE PARK (WJON News) -- Waite Park has received a large grant to help clean up its water supply. The Waite Park City Council approved to accept an over $1.4 million grant from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) at last night's (Monday) meeting.

The grant will cover the cost of staff, legal, and engineering to help design and plan a new treatment system to remove Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) from the water supply. Waite Park Public Works Director Bill Schluenz says the city will start planning in January but it will take some time to get everything done:

"So it could be a couple years or it could be three to five before it's all done. Probably closer to the three year mark but once everything is designed and then go through and do construction but nothing's written in concrete at this moment."

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PFAS is a chemical commonly found in household products like upholstery, food paper wrappings, and personal care products. Waite Park was first tested for PFAS in November of 2021 and was notified in early 2022 the chemical was in the water. Waite Park is not in violation of any drinking water regulations and the water supply is safe to drink. There is more information available on the city's website.

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