Minnesota county landfill using new system to filter pure water from toxic leachate
Thanks to a first-of-its-kind system in the United States, a western Minnesota county says it has kept PFAS and other contaminants from getting into the environment.
Greg Ackerson, of Apex Water Solutions, says the Kandiyohi County Sanitary Landfill is "full of carcinogens, heavy metals, toxins, PFAS and hundreds of contaminate concerns."
He said these sites create a toxic cocktail of leachate, which contains harmful chemicals like PFAS, that can work their way into our environment.
But Ackerson believes his company has created a unique solution to a widespread problem. He calls it the WARP filter system, and it's able to extract pure water out of the leachate.
"The holes are so small, we're talking about molecular sizes. So anything big like a PFAS molecule or anything like that, just can't fit through the holes," said Ackerson. "It's so clean you can legally bottle it and sell it."
Ackerson said the amount of PFAS the WARP system captured last year would have been enough to put the entire county in the highest health risk category.
"Tourism is the No. 1 industry in Kandiyohi County. Water plays a big role in tourism success," said County Commissioner Roger Imdieke.
Imdieke said the county took a leap of faith with the pioneering system, and he's happy they did.
"We had our challenges, but we stuck with it and it looks like it's paying off," said Imdieke.
The goal now is for this type of system to become more widespread, and those plans are already in the works in Wisconsin and northern Minnesota.
"Not only is this a huge environmental benefit, but it really, really protects us, our future generations, right, and it does the right thing," said Ackerson.
Ryan Badten, superintendent of the Kandiyohi County Sanitary Landfill, says the WARP system captured 6.9 billion nanograms of PFAS in 2024.
