Drinking Water Program 2009-2020
Sponsored by Local Town Boards, Columbia County Ext and the Columbia County Land & Water Cons. Dept.
Groundwater is an essential resource in Wisconsin. It provides drinking water for 70% of Wisconsin residents and 95% of Wisconsin communities. Groundwater also feeds our lakes, streams and wetlands and helps sustain the many creatures who live there.
Nearly 900,000 households rely on private wells as their primary water supply. Homeowners with private wells are encouraged to have their well tested on a regular basis to determine the safety of the water supply for purposes such as drinking and cooking. While testing is the only way to determine the types and amount of contaminants in a well water system, homeowners and local officials often want to know more about water quality issues in their community. (www.uwsp.edu) Getting your water tested annually is the best way to know if your drinking water is safe.
The Columbia County Drinking Water Testing Program is a convenient way to test your water and learn about what your results say about the quality of your drinking water.
2007-2010 Columbia County Water Testing Program
2017-2020 Columbia County Water Testing Program
Drinking Water Phase 1 Map (2007-2010)
Drinking Water Phase 11 Map (2017-2020)
Weren’t able to participate in the Drinking Water Program from 2007-2020 but still need your water tested?
You can pick up the homeowner testing kits FREE at: Columbia County Extension Office located at 112 East Edgewater Street, Suite 212, Portage, WI (608) 742-9680. It’s an easy sample test to take. An instructional video is also available. Once you have the sample, you send it to the lab for processing. Columba County Extension is only a distribute of the homeowner sample kits. Columbia County Extension does not carry the Pesticide Screening or Metals Screening test kits the lab will ship them directly to you.
Columbia County Division of Health offers free well water testing to pregnant women and children less than one year old. Testing kits are available from the Columbia County Division of Health. Please call (608) 742-9227 to schedule an appointment with a Public Health Nurse.
Additional information on forms and current pricing can be found at: https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/weal/Pages/Homeowner.aspx