A paper company that’s been named responsible for PFAS contamination is launching a bottled water program for residents in the northern Wisconsin town of Stella.
Ahlstrom, which owns the Rhinelander mill, launched the program Thursday for residents living in a 3-mile radius of the Stella Town Hall. The company sent out about 300 letters to eligible residents, who would be able to receive bottled water free of charge without testing their wells.
The program will be run by Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, and 5-gallon jugs of bottled water will be delivered and collected monthly by Culligan Water. The program reinforces the company’s commitment to the region as a longtime employer of the mill’s 425 employees, said Tricia Schwartz, communications manager for Ahlstrom’s operations in North America.
“We understand that concerns about drinking water have been raised by residents of the region, and we are working to be part of the solution,” Schwartz said in a statement.
The program comes after the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources named Ahlstrom and other paper companies responsible for widespread PFAS contamination last fall. The DNR has said soil sampling found PFAS at levels “orders of magnitude” higher where paper mill sludge had been spread.
In response to the announcement, Town of Stella Chairman Casey Crump said the state has already been providing emergency bottled water for the last several years.
“I do commend them. They are doing something now that they’ve been told they have to,” Crump said. “Something is better than nothing, which is what they were doing before. We just need to make sure that something is…what’s going to help our citizens the most.”
The company said it’s not required to offer the bottled water program after being named responsible for contamination by the state.
The DNR has not had a conversation with the company about whether it’s required to offer bottled water because Ahlstrom is stepping up to offer the program, said Christine Sieger, director of the DNR’s Bureau of Remediation and Redevelopment.
She noted sampling only recently linked PFAS contamination to spreading of paper mill sludge in the area. Sieger added the agency must be careful to base regulation of companies on the best available data, saying that Ahlstrom’s bottled water program goes beyond what the DNR has offered.
“They’re offering everyone in that range bottled water, regardless of whether or not a well has been sampled and found to be contaminated,” Sieger said.
Testing of private wells in Stella has revealed PFAS levels among the highest concentrations found in drinking water anywhere in the nation. Levels observed are thousands of times higher than federal drinking water standards that were enacted last year.
More than one-third of 241 wells tested so far have levels of the chemicals that are concerning to state health officials. Last summer, the DNR expanded sampling to 400 more wells in nearby towns.
Crump said Stella residents need assistance with treatment of contaminated wells that haven’t been replaced. He would like to see the company fund installation of filtration systems and ongoing maintenance of filters, which he said can cost up to $500. Crump said paying for PFAS testing of homes that the DNR has been unable to test would be “a good start.”
He added that PFAS contamination has upended the lives of some residents, who have been advised to avoid using their water for drinking and cooking by health and environmental regulators.
In the last three years, the DNR has spent $120,100 to provide temporary water to 63 homes in the town of Stella.
Letters to eligible residents contain instructions on how to sign up for bottled water using a QR code or by contacting Langan at (715) 994-9894.
Those receiving water from the DNR can transfer to Ahlstrom’s program, and Culligan is expected to continue distribution uninterrupted. The paper company said it plans to offer the program for at least a year and re-evaluate next steps in January 2027.
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