Tests Show More SW Wisconsin Wells Contaminated

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Additional tests show more southwestern Wisconsin wells are contaminated with manure.

Scientists tested 34 private wells in Grant, Iowa and Lafayette counties in mid-August and found 25, or 73%, were contaminated with human or livestock manure.

The wells are a subset of 840 wells sampled in November 2018 and April 2019. About 32% showed evidence of bacterial or nitrate pollution. Researchers have begun testing smaller subsets of those wells to gather more details.

Tests on an initial 35-well subset in April showed 91% were contaminated with human or livestock manure.

Lafayette County officials in November accused media outlets of reporting 91% of the entire region's wells were contaminated. They threatened to prosecute journalists who reported on the second round of tests without quoting a county news release verbatim but later backed off amid a firestorm of criticism.

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