Manganese Well Water Project Results
Lincoln County Health Department was awarded a grant from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to provide manganese water test kits, at no cost, to those who live in Lincoln County and have a private well.
Manganese is a common, naturally occurring element found in rocks, soil, water, air and food. Small amounts are part of a healthy diet, however high levels in drinking water can affect health. Infants under 6 months and adults over age 50 are at highest risk. Manganese may be in your water if it has a rust color, causes staining of faucets, sinks or laundry, or if it has an off taste or odor. The only way to know if manganese levels are high is to test your private well water.
Participating Lincoln County residents with a private well received a free water test kit, a copy of their test results and information on next steps if their well water had high manganese levels. This program allowed residents to become better informed about their well water quality and allowed the Health Department to better understand manganese water levels throughout Lincoln County.
Results
A total of 133 tests were completed across 16 townships in Lincoln County from February to June 2022. Of the 133 tests, 6 (5%) came back as unsafe to drink due to high manganese levels. Those with elevated levels were given information on next steps and who to contact for assistance in removing any excess manganese by LCHD or the DNR. There were no connections found between all 6 wells as to why they had elevated levels of manganese. See the map below for results. For a review of the project and the results, please see the following report.
Next Steps if Levels are High
- Contact the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Private Well Water Specialist or a licensed well driller or pump installer to discuss options.
- Infants under 6 months and people over age 50 should stop consuming water immediately.
- Do not boil the water. Boiling the water will concentrate the levels of manganese.
- Use bottled water or water from an alternative safe source, until a long-term solution is determined.
- Install a Point of Use (POU) or Point of Entry (POE) certified water treatment device*. The Department of Safety and Professional Services approves devices for treating water. Select products and then plumbing products from the drop down menu at https://esla.wi.gov/verifylicense.
- Consider an alternative safe source or drilling a new well.
* Point of Use (POU) and Point of Entry (POE) treatment devices may be used to remove manganese from drinking water. POU devices are used to treat water at the point of use, such as a single tap. POE systems treat all the water entering the home. All types of systems must be properly installed and maintained. Generally, filters found in refrigerators, or water pitchers do not remove manganese.
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