Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Tuesday, April 15, 2008
City water passes compliance tests
The latest water quality report for La Crosse indicates the city supply of drinking water is safe, officials said.
“Bottom line is that it shows the La Crosse water system was in compliance with all the regulatory standards,” said Water Utility Manager Mark Johnson.
The water utility last week mailed out about 26,000 copies of the report to La Crosse residents. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandates water utilities report back to water consumers annually.
The official statement, also called a consumer confidence report, summarizes contaminant results data and ongoing water utility projects. Contaminant levels all were within the range considered safe, Johnson said.
La Crosse water customers used 10.8 million gallons per day on average in 2007, according to the report.
Also in 2007 the city’s water supply won a statewide taste test competition in Green Bay.
La Crosse’s drinking water is pumped from underground wells to a distribution center and is treated with chlorine and fluoride. Some wells are treated with polyphosphate to correct discolored water.
The city last failed a compliance test in 2006, when samples turned up positive for coliform bacteria.
The system was flushed, and the utility notified the public. “That’s the only year in my memory that we had a noncompliance,” Johnson said. “Everything has been in compliance and good since that time.”
Samantha Marcus can be reached at (608) 791-8220 or smarcus@lacrossetribune.com.
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