First round of grants announced in $10M statewide well decontamination program

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The first round of grants from a federally funded state program gave financial assistance to well owners who need to replace, reconstruct, treat or abandon their contaminated private wells.

Gov. Tony Evers and the Department of Natural Resources announced on Tuesday five grants were awarded to well owners in Marathon, Portage and Winnebago counties to rehabilitate or abandon contaminated wells. The Well Compensation Program announced in August is backed by $10 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Of the first five grants, two were for well compensation with a total of $30,791 and three were for well abandonment with a total of $4,144.

With the $10 million investment, state officials said federal programs could help owners address contamination in more than 1,030 wells across the state.

The DNR opened applications on Oct. 3 and received nearly two dozen applications from every region in the state within the first three weeks of the application period, state officials said. The agency will continue to accept and review applications until funding runs out.