Water Quality Testing in Eau Claire County’s Private Wells : An Assessment of Waterborne Contaminants

Abstract

The goal of this study is to better understand groundwater quality and contaminant concerns in rural areas of Eau Claire County, WI to make informed decisions about drinking water regulations. Roughly 9000 private wells provide drinking water to 25% of the population of Eau Claire County. These wells are not required to be routinely tested, unlike municipal wells, and thousands of these wells remain untested every year. The Eau Claire City-County Health Department, the Department of Public Health and Environmental Studies and the Department of Geology and Environmental Science are working collaboratively to recruit and contact homeowners to arrange tap water sampling. Each sample is tested for nitrate, total bacteria, e. Coli, copper, lead, arsenic, manganese, and hardness. To date, 62 samples have been collected. The project is ongoing, and more wells will be sampled and tested, including sampling for PFAS (per-and polyfluorinated substances) in select locations. More data is necessary to develop meaningful conclusions, but it is expected that the collective results will aid in our understanding of groundwater quality characteristics in this region.