La Crosse county officials are considering how to respond to growing concerns over nitrate contamination in private wells.
Last spring, the La Crosse County Health Department warned 2,000 households that their private wells might be contaminated with high levels of nitrates.
"We tested 540 wells during that time just from this particular area, the Town of Holland and the Town of Onalaska, and 30 percent of those tested at levels about the recommended levels of nitrates," said Carol Drury, environmental health and laboratory manager at the health department.
Drury said the county has between 7,000 and 9,000 private wells.
Mark Borchardt, research microbiologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said La Crosse County’s findings are extraordinarily high.
In Kewaunee County, on a countywide basis, the number of private wells that exceed the 10 parts per million limit was 7 percent," Borchardt said.
Borchardt helped conduct a study of private wells there last year that found widespread contamination from farms and private septic systems.
So, it’s not something to be taken lightly," Borchardt said.
So in the short term, we want to do what we can."
Drury said the department is focused on educating the public about the risk and helping those with contaminated wells.