Depending on where you live in Kewaunee County, you can raise a glass to reports of cleaner water. At last week's Land and Water Conservation Committee meeting, Kewaunee County Land and Water Conservation Department Director Davina Bonness shared the most recent well-testing results completed at the end of October.  Over 190 well tests were submitted, and samples were sent to UW-Stevens Point for bacteria testing and the Environmental Protection Agency for nitrate testing. No nitrate data was available at the meeting, but Bonness said that of the 192 tested wells, none returned positive for E.Coli and 29 wells had traces of coliform. Despite the testing going on when manure was being spread, and rain was falling, Bonness said it was an improvement over the past.

The 190-plus wells that were tested represent a fraction of the estimated 3,900 wells in Kewaunee County. The area has ramped up its well testing thanks to the national media the area received less than a decade ago when one-third of the 320 wells were unsafe to use due to coliform, E.Coli, or nitrates. Special attention has been brought to the Village of Casco, where earlier this year, there were several cases of increased levels of nitrates, including one impacting an area daycare.