2 weeks ago
3
By MICHAEL PHILLIS and HELEN WIEFFERING
STELLA, Wis. (AP) — Kristen Hanneman made a small decision in 2022 that would upend life for her entire town.
State scientists were checking private drinking water wells across Wisconsin for a widely used family of harmful chemicals called PFAS. They mailed an offer to test the well outside her tidy farmhouse surrounded by potato farms cut out of dense forest. Without much thought, she accepted.
Months later, Hanneman found herself on the phone with a state toxicologist who told her to stop drinking the water — now. The well her three kids grew up on had levels thousands of times higher than federal drinking water limits for what are commonly known as forever chemicals.
Hanneman’s well was hardly the only one with a problem. And the chemicals were everywhere. Pristine lakes and superb hunting made Stella a sportsman’s dream. Now officials say the fish and deer should be eaten sparingly or not at all.
Many residents here have known their neighbors for decades. If they want to move away from all this, it’s hard to sell their property – who, after all, would want to buy?
“Had I just thrown that survey in the garbage,” Hanneman said, “would any of this be where it is today?”
Stella is far from the only community near Read Entire Article
English (US) ·