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UW‑Stevens Point presents private well testing: most Richland wells meet health standards
Summary
A UW‑Stevens Point presenter told the board that 88 Richland County private wells were tested; about 4% exceeded the 10 mg/L nitrate health standard, none tested positive for E. coli, and metals/arsenic levels were generally low.
Kayla, a researcher from the UW‑Stevens Point Center for Watershed Science and Education, presented results from a multi‑county private well testing project. In Richland County, 88 private wells were sampled as part of a 350+ sample project across three counties. Kayla said the water was generally hard and alkaline (88% of samples considered hard) and that metals testing showed generally low levels of arsenic and nuisance metals.
"About 4% of samples were above the health standard of 10 parts per million for nitrate," Kayla said, adding that this rate is below the state average and that homeowners with elevated nitrate may consider treatment such as reverse‑osmosis. She also said coliform bacteria appeared in about 5% of wells tested and no samples detected E. coli.
County staff said the one‑time grant funding covered the testing and that maintaining a testing program would require additional funding sources.
