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- Salt Lake City seeks up to $800,000 for PFAS cleanup planning at the 4th Avenue Well.
- The city is tracking federal policy changes to secure necessary funds for the project.
- Despite funding uncertainties, Salt Lake City will proceed, prioritizing the well's importance to downtown water supply.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's capital city is seeking outside assistance as it looks to clean up small amounts of a potentially harmful substance found in an "important" city well in late 2023.
However, it's also tracking federal policy to make sure it's able to get the funds.
The Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities applied for a Utah Drinking Water Board loan of up to $800,000 to cover the planning and design costs associated with removing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, from the 4th Avenue Well near Memory Grove.
Laura Briefer, director of Salt Lake Public Utilities, said the money would be used to create an alternative analysis and cleanup design by early 2026 before any construction. A memo by city officials notes that the state will "forgive 100% of the principal cost of the loan to pay for an engineering study to address the contamination issue."
Department officials revealed last year that "low concentrations" of PFAS had been discovered at the well. PFAS — often referred to as "forever chemicals" — are a cluster of thousands of man-made substances created in the 1940s. They're common in items like nonstick cookware, firefighting foam and clothing, and are linked to various health effects.
About 7.8 parts per trillion of PFAS were found during a department test of the well in October 2023. That triggered a second test the following month, which found 7.1 parts per trillion, just above federal standards. Traces of PFAS were also found in the city's 500 South well, but tests of the public water supply came back clean.
Briefer told KSL.com last week the city remains hopeful that the funding will be available because there are concerns it could be held up in Washington. The Trump administration implemented and then rescinded the measure last month that paused federal loans, grants and other financial assistance.
The state loan, she explained, comes from federal funds funneled through the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. It was one of the many items that led to Utah leaders calling the initial freeze a "wake-up call."
Had the funding been revoked, Briefer said it would be a "fair amount of money," but the city would find another way to move forward with the project because of the need.
"We're going to be moving forward with the project regardless," she said. "The 4th Avenue Well is one of our most important sources of drinking water and one of our most reliable sources of drinking water, especially for the downtown Salt Lake City area."
The temporary freeze sparked greater concerns with larger public utilities projects already underway. The city received a $38.7 million grant for its City Creek Water Treatment Plant project. It also received a $348 million low-interest loan from the Environmental Protection Agency to help pay for its new wastewater treatment plant.
