Committee reviews well-testing results and regional water testing plans amid nitrate concerns

County staff reviewed previous well-testing results and said a regional testing program could expand sampling to more wells, while committee members raised concerns about nitrates and E. coli levels in parts of the county.

Staff described two testing efforts: one earlier round of county tests (October 2020 and 2021) and a pending regional grant-driven program run by a Southwest regional partner that could add sampling capacity. Kathy explained that some broader regional tests do not include E. coli or coliform testing because of logistics and lab turnaround requirements; she said staff had asked the regional partners to consider adding coliform tests because a positive bacterial result is an immediate public-health concern.

On anonymization, staff said the datasets used for county maps are reported in aggregate by township or larger areas and do not identify individual wells publicly: “They can't give out individual data information because… they didn't want to have neighbors who complain… well, your well's dirty, so my well's gonna get contaminated,” staff said. Staff noted that individual homeowners are notified if their wells test positive for bacterial contamination and that retesting and remediation steps are available.

Committee members asked about the fraction of wells tested; staff said the sample sizes to date are relatively small and that a larger regional grant could allow testing of several hundred additional wells in Richland County. Panelists discussed nutrient-management outreach and voluntary practices to reduce nitrate leaching and noted that in coarse sand geology areas nitrate removal is more difficult, which can make private wells more vulnerable.

The committee did not adopt new policy at the meeting but asked staff to continue pursuing grant funding and to return with more testing plans and recommendations for outreach to landowners about nutrient management and well testing access.