Health

Health department recommends annual well water testing

Published

5 years ago

August 20, 2019

The La Crosse County Health Department invited private well owners to test for bacteria and metals in water Tuesday at the West Salem Library.

“To be honest, people have this on their to-do list, but they haven’t gotten around to it, so I think for us to cater it to their community, it makes it more popular,” Maichor Lee, health educator, said.

From 4-7 p.m., members of the La Crosse County Health Department will accept water samples to test for bacteria, nitrate and arsenic. Lee said they will collect water samples at the library and will provide testing bottles for those who do not have any for water collection.

Those who missed Tuesday’s event can bring their water to the health department during normal business hours to pay for testing. Lee said they recommend an annual assessment of drinking water.

“Many of the bacteria or things in the water, a lot of the time you are not going to be able to see it, smell it, or taste it, so that is why it is very important for you to get it tested yearly,” Lee said.

The cost of the test is as follows:
$27 for bacteria
$27 for nitrate
$54 for both (bacteria and nitrate)
$29 for arsenic
$95 – Full metals panel (includes arsenic)

Related Topics:metals nitrate test water

Kaitlyn Riley

Kaitlyn Riley’s passion for communications started on her family’s dairy farm in Gays Mills, Wis. Wanting to share agriculture’s story, she studied strategic communications and broadcast journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In college, she held officer positions with the Association of Women in Agriculture and Badger Dairy Club while volunteering as a news reporter for the college radio station. She also founded the university’s first agricultural radio talk show, AgChat. In her professional career, Kaitlyn has worked in radio, print and television news doing everything from covering local events to interviewing presidential candidates, and putting back on her barn boots to chat with farmers in the field. Today, Kaitlyn can be seen covering local stories that matter to you in the La Crosse area.