WAUPUN – Those in the Waupun area with private drinking wells will have the opportunity to test their well water with Rock River Intermediate School and the University of Wisconsin – Extension, Fond du Lac County.
RELATED: City: No breach occurred in Fond du Lac water payment portal The testing is optional.
The goal of the testing is to help understand the risk in the water by learning if there are contaminants are in the water and what they are.
Certain contaminants are of particular risk to children and pregnant women.
If contaminants are found in the water, those who participate will learn ways to improve the safety of their water.
Treatment is also optional.
To learn more about the sampling program and well water, the public is invited to Literacy Night from 5 to 7 p.m. March 13 at Rock River Intermediate School, 451 E. Spring St., Waupun.
Students in Leigh Kohlmann’ssixth-grade science class will demonstrate how well water gets contaminated and show existing water quality data for the area.
Those who bring well water samples from an unsoftened, cold water tap will have the opportunity to have students spot-check their samples for water hardness.
Participants can choose which samples to take — bacteria, nitrates and or/arsenic — and pay with a credit card or check by March 13.

Residents who have private wells contaminated with a potentially cancer causing chemical need access to a public water system, Cumberland County’s environmental health director said Tuesday.
More than 150 wells around the Chemours plant just across the Bladen County line have elevated levels of GenX, a compound that has been linked to several forms of cancer in animal studies.
Daniel Ortiz, the environmental health director for Cumberland County, talked to the county Board of Health about the contamination at its meeting.
Ortiz said county commissioners are right to make running water lines to the area a priority.
Ortiz said the residents need public water, even though Chemours is testing filters on four houses in the area.
Chemours makes GenX at the plant.
In other action at the Health Board meeting Tuesday, board members had a lively discussion after Dr. William Philbrick, board chairman, talked about an email he had received that he thought was written by county commissioners.
The Health Department worked out a partnership in September with Stedman-Wade Health Services to reopen them on a part-time basis.
She said some residents who use the Health Department aren’t happy with the services.
Philbrick thanked Baker and several people with her for coming to the meeting.

(MENAFN – Pajhwok Afghan News) FEROZKOH (Pajhwok): Grappling with an acute shortage of drinking water, the residents of western Ghor province have urged the government to relieve them from walking long distances to fetch water home after most of the wells in their localities dried up.
Three main rivers of the country, Hariroud, Murghab and Farahroud flow through Ghor province, but still its residents lack drinking water, according to the residents, who claim most of the wells in Ferozkhoh, the provincial capital, had dried up.
Hussai, another resident, said they had shared the water scarcity problem with local officials but to no avail.
We shared the issue with local representatives but they did not pay attention,€ he said.
Meanwhile, Provincial Council (PC) members termed the water shortage as a huge issue and added the supply of drinking water to every home was the people€™s prime demand.
PC head Fazal Haq Ihsan said he had often highlighted the water scarcity issue during his trips to Kabul with the Energy and Water Ministry.
Governor Ghulam Nasir Khasi said due to the lack of energy, electricity and water resources, the local administration had been unable to address the water shortage issue.
He said thousands of families in Ferozkhoh had been facing the shortage of water and they had been trying to resolve the issue.
Mohammad Amin Wakeel, head of the Hariroud River Administration, said in the past officials of the Energy and Water Ministry had strived to build a water supply system for Ferozkoh but some powerful individuals did not allow the project.
He said only two percent of people in Ghor had access to clean drinking water.

FEROZKOH (Pajhwok): Grappling with an acute shortage of drinking water, the residents of western Ghor province have urged the government to relieve them from walking long distances to fetch water home after most of the wells in their localities dried up.
Three main rivers of the country, Hariroud, Murghab and Farahroud flow through Ghor province, but still its residents lack drinking water, according to the residents, who claim most of the wells in Ferozkhoh, the provincial capital, had dried up.
Fatemha, 40, a resident of Ferozkhoh, told Pajhwok Afghan News they brought water home from the area’s only well.
Hussai, another resident, said they had shared the water scarcity problem with local officials but to no avail.
We shared the issue with local representatives but they did not pay attention,” he said.
Meanwhile, Provincial Council (PC) members termed the water shortage as a huge issue and added the supply of drinking water to every home was the people’s prime demand.
PC head Fazal Haq Ihsan said he had often highlighted the water scarcity issue during his trips to Kabul with the Energy and Water Ministry.
Governor Ghulam Nasir Khasi said due to the lack of energy, electricity and water resources, the local administration had been unable to address the water shortage issue.
He said thousands of families in Ferozkhoh had been facing the shortage of water and they had been trying to resolve the issue.
Mohammad Amin Wakeel, head of the Hariroud River Administration, said in the past officials of the Energy and Water Ministry had strived to build a water supply system for Ferozkoh but some powerful individuals did not allow the project.

Residents of Blades are being told to drink bottled water as the town’s well water system has been contaminated by "perfluorinated compounds" or (PFCs).
DNREC said the water from the sampled wells are safe to use for bathing and laundry, but cannot be used for cooking or drinking.
Bottled water was expected to be provided Friday at noon to residents at the Blades Fire Hall.
Alternative sources of drinking and cooking water will be provided until a permanent solution is in place, according to DNREC.
Long-term exposure to perfluorooctanoicacid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) can affect pregnant women and infants and cause cancer and liver and immune system impacts.
Friday, Governor Carney signed an executive order that mobilizes the Delaware National Guard to assist the Town of Blades.
The DNG has provided two, 400-gallon portable water tanks and coordinated troops to provide 24-hour water distribution operations at the fire hall.
A 5,000-gallon water tanker is also prepared and available for follow-up support.
“Access to safe and clean drinking water is an absolutely essential and basic human necessity, and we are extremely troubled by the situation in Blades," said Delaware’s delegation in a written statement.
"We are doing everything we can to understand the causes behind what has happened and determine how we can help Governor Carney address the pressing needs of the families affected in Sussex County."

DOVER – The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) began providing bottled water Friday for drinking and cooking to residents of the Town of Blades in Sussex County.
This response comes after all three of the town’s drinking water wells returned concentrations of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) above the human health advisory level (70 parts per trillion) following recent sampling by DNREC at the request of the US Environmental Protection Agency.
DNREC worked with EPA in sampling the wells given their proximity to potential sources of PFCs from historical industrial processes in the area.
Water from the Blades wells that were sampled is considered safe for use by residents for bathing and laundry.
Bottled water was to be delivered Friday morning to the Blades Elementary School and four day care centers in the area, and also was being provided by noon Friday to all Blades residents via delivery at the Blades Fire Hall.
Alternative sources of drinking and cooking water will be provided until a permanent solution is in place.
Though PFCs are not regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, DPH is working with DNREC to minimize any potential health impacts to the community.
Long-term exposure to perfluorooctanoicacid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) can affect pregnant women and infants and cause cancer and liver and immune system impacts.
While much research has been conducted on laboratory animals, the accompanying research related to humans is more limited.
MEDIA CONTACT: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902 -30- Related Topics: alternative sources of potable water • Blades Fire Hall • bottled water • contaminated wells • deliveries • Town of Blades

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) are now providing bottled water for residents in Blades as the town’s well water system has been contaminated by "perfluorinated compounds" or (PFCs).
DNREC’s announcement comes after all three of the town’s wells returned concentrations of PFCs that are above the human health advisory level (70 parts per trillion) following recent sampling at the request of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
DNREC says the water from the sampled wells are safe to use for bathing and laundry, but cannot be used for cooking or drinking.
Bottled water will be delivered Friday morning to Blades Elementary, which announced school would be closed to students due to the problem.
Bottled water will be provided Friday at noon to residents at the Blades Fire Hall.
Alternative sources of drinking and cooking water will be provided until a permanent solution is in place, according to DNREC.
Water will be supplied to the entire town until additional work can determine the extent of PFC contamination in the municipal wells.
Though PFCs are not regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, DPH is working with DNREC to minimize any potential health impacts to the community.
Long-term exposure to perfluorooctanoicacid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) can affect pregnant women and infants and cause cancer and liver and immune system impacts.
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GenX is produced at a Chemours facility at Fayetteville, N.C., where over the past few years the chemical has been identified by EPA and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality in the Cape Fear River, several water supplies downstream from that facility and in groundwater wells at and around the Fayetteville facility, said a letter from Kate McManus, acting director of the EPA Water Protection Division, dated Jan. 11 to Andew Harten, principal project manager-corporate remediation for Chemours.
“EPA is concerned that drinking water wells in the vicinity of the Washington Works facility may similarly be contaminated by GenX,” the letter said.
A science panel studying the health data of 70,000 residents of the Mid-Ohio Valley found a possible link between C8 and six diseases in humans.
“In addition, Chemours plans to sample four public drinking water systems and 10 private water wells at residences in the vicinity of the facility,” the statement said.
“The notification letters with access permission requests for sampling will be sent to homeowners and municipalities this month.” The EPA is requesting Chemours sample a select group of public and private drinking water supplies for GenX in the vicinity of the Washington Works.
The water supplies were chosen by EPA based upon historically high concentrations of PFOA and it is “likely that these same wells would be impacted by GenX,” the letter said.
“Each of the selected water supplies is currently being treated with granulated activated carbon for PFOA removal,” the letter said.
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GenX is produced at a Chemours facility at Fayetteville, N.C., where over the past few years the chemical has been identified by EPA and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality in the Cape Fear River, several water supplies downstream from that facility and in groundwater wells at and around the Fayetteville facility, said a letter from Kate McManus, acting director of the EPA Water Protection Division, dated Jan. 11 to Andrew Harten, principal project manager-corporate remediation for Chemours.
“EPA is concerned that drinking water wells in the vicinity of the Washington Works facility may similarly be contaminated by GenX,” the letter said.
“This concern is based in part upon the fact that GenX has been detected in three on-site production wells and one on-site drinking water well, at the Washington Works facility.” C8, also known as PFOA, was once used to make Teflon at the Washington Works until it was replaced with GenX, which is of the same family of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances called PFAS.
A science panel studying the health data of 70,000 residents of the Mid-Ohio Valley found a possible link between C8 and six diseases in humans.
“In addition, Chemours plans to sample four public drinking water systems and 10 private water wells at residences in the vicinity of the facility,” the statement said.
“The notification letters with access permission requests for sampling will be sent to homeowners and municipalities this month.” The EPA is requesting Chemours sample a select group of public and private drinking water supplies for GenX in the vicinity of the Washington Works.
The water supplies were chosen by EPA based upon historically high concentrations of PFOA and it is “likely that these same wells would be impacted by GenX based upon the common methods of dispersal,” the letter said.
“Each of the selected water supplies is currently being treated with granulated activated carbon for PFOA removal,” the letter said.
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The Navy plans to retest well water near Naval Auxiliary Landing Field Fentress for contaminants found in a firefighting foam that was used for decades at the airfield where fighter jets simulate landings on aircraft carriers.
The Navy said it is contacting homeowners near the airfield in rural Chesapeake for permission to sample their well water for perfluorinated compounds that were first found at Fentress and some nearby properties in 2016.
The Navy has been providing bottled water for workers at Fentress and residents who have elevated levels of the compounds in their wells.
The Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t regulate PFCs, but it considers them an "emerging contaminant" that could threaten health or the environment.
Some studies have indicated the compounds increase the risk for cancer in animals and damage to human liver cells, and an association with thyroid disease.
The EPA is studying the contaminants to determine whether regulations for acceptable levels are needed.
A provisional health advisory level is in place for now.
The Navy plans on testing wells near Fentress through Feb. 16 and will notify residents of their personal drinking water sample results in April.
Meanwhile, Naval Air Systems Command, the Naval Research Laboratory in Arlington and a private firefighting foam manufacturer each are researching the development of a PFC-free firefighting foam, which the Defense Department believes would reduce the environmental impact of training while keeping personnel safe.
The research will cost $2.5 million and is expected to be completed in 2020.