Ever wonder what's in the water?
The folks at the La Crosse County public health lab can tell you.
Established in 1939, it is one of 13 public health labs in the state and last year tested 6,718 water samples for contaminants such as fecal coliform bacteria, nitrates, and phosphorous.
Lab analysts also ran 63,700 tests on urine samples from drug defendants.
Patty Dayton is one of two full-time and two part-time lab analysts who run the tests. She's been there 19 years.
Jim Steinhoff started in 1981. He's just the third person to run the lab, a job he's held for the past five years.
The lab is supported by tax dollars - $118,000 last year - and fees for services - about $210,000. The tests are available to anyone, not just county residents.
"The system was set up to serve the region," Steinhoff said.
Private well owners bring in samples of their drinking water, as do municipalities like the city of La Crosse. The city also brings in effluent and sludge from the wastewater treatment plant to ensure they're meeting regulations. Tests for metals and the herbicide atrazine are done offsite.
During summer months, the health department samples the water at public beaches, and land conservation workers monitor creeks and streams for agricultural runoff.
To test a sample taken last week from the flood-swollen Mississippi River, Dayton first sterilizes her equipment with ultraviolet light.
The sample water is pulled through a paper-thin plastic filter with tiny holes that trap bacteria. Identical filters are prepared with distilled water so she will know a positive test is not the result of contamination. The filters are placed into plastic dishes the size of a half dollar and containing an enzyme for the bacteria to eat and then into an incubator to grow overnight.
Twice a week, Justice Sanctions sends over vials of urine to be tested for a variety of drugs as well as tampering. Dayton picks up one tube of clear liquid - likely the result of someone drinking a lot of water to skew the results. There's a test for that, too.
"They try and get away with stuff, but we're too good for them," Dayton says.
Drinking water is tested with a special reagents that change color in the presence of coliform bacteria. Dayton only needs to see the sample turn magenta to know there's trouble.
Swimming pools and beaches can be safe with low levels of the bacteria, which can come from human or animal feces. There's another test for pseudomonas, a fast-growing bacteria that produces something known as "hot tub rash."
Dayton avoids hot tubs.
So what was in that river water?
After 24 hours in the incubator, the white filter showed two blue spots - coliform colonies - indicating a concentration of 20 per 100 milliliters. The health department says anything under 235 per 100 ml is safe.
So jump in, the water's fine.
By Chris Hubbuch | chubbuch@lacrossetribune.com
The folks at the La Crosse County public health lab can tell you.
Established in 1939, it is one of 13 public health labs in the state and last year tested 6,718 water samples for contaminants such as fecal coliform bacteria, nitrates, and phosphorous.
Lab analysts also ran 63,700 tests on urine samples from drug defendants.
Patty Dayton is one of two full-time and two part-time lab analysts who run the tests. She's been there 19 years.
Jim Steinhoff started in 1981. He's just the third person to run the lab, a job he's held for the past five years.
The lab is supported by tax dollars - $118,000 last year - and fees for services - about $210,000. The tests are available to anyone, not just county residents.
"The system was set up to serve the region," Steinhoff said.
Private well owners bring in samples of their drinking water, as do municipalities like the city of La Crosse. The city also brings in effluent and sludge from the wastewater treatment plant to ensure they're meeting regulations. Tests for metals and the herbicide atrazine are done offsite.
During summer months, the health department samples the water at public beaches, and land conservation workers monitor creeks and streams for agricultural runoff.
To test a sample taken last week from the flood-swollen Mississippi River, Dayton first sterilizes her equipment with ultraviolet light.
The sample water is pulled through a paper-thin plastic filter with tiny holes that trap bacteria. Identical filters are prepared with distilled water so she will know a positive test is not the result of contamination. The filters are placed into plastic dishes the size of a half dollar and containing an enzyme for the bacteria to eat and then into an incubator to grow overnight.
Twice a week, Justice Sanctions sends over vials of urine to be tested for a variety of drugs as well as tampering. Dayton picks up one tube of clear liquid - likely the result of someone drinking a lot of water to skew the results. There's a test for that, too.
"They try and get away with stuff, but we're too good for them," Dayton says.
Drinking water is tested with a special reagents that change color in the presence of coliform bacteria. Dayton only needs to see the sample turn magenta to know there's trouble.
Swimming pools and beaches can be safe with low levels of the bacteria, which can come from human or animal feces. There's another test for pseudomonas, a fast-growing bacteria that produces something known as "hot tub rash."
Dayton avoids hot tubs.
So what was in that river water?
After 24 hours in the incubator, the white filter showed two blue spots - coliform colonies - indicating a concentration of 20 per 100 milliliters. The health department says anything under 235 per 100 ml is safe.
So jump in, the water's fine.
By Chris Hubbuch | chubbuch@lacrossetribune.com
