Grant money helps educate those in La Crosse County on water contamination

Wells can have high levels of deadly metals

It’s money that will be used to assist those with private wells, in hopes of keeping their drinking water safe.

Money that totals over $130,000 in grants from the Centers for Disease Control to La Crosse County’s health dept. 

“(It will) provide education on how to test their drinking water, what to test for, where they can take samples and what they can do to improve water quality,” Jim Steinhoff with the health department said.

Private wells can often become filled with contaminants and this is money that will not only educate people throughout the county, but further assist them in getting wells tested.

“For years we’ve been working with people who have their own wells in La Crosse County and the region,” Steinhoff said. “We notice really high levels of contamination in certain areas.

“Private wells can have high levels of certain metals like lead or arsenic. All those things at certain levels can create a lot of diff health problems from infection all the way up to cancer.”

Steinhoff added the grant will help, not with just education but also to work with other county health departments to resolve these issues.