Water testing kits obtainable for OTC residents | Information

In response to overwhelming curiosity in water take a look at kits, Otter Tail County has responded. Starting Sept. 8, 2020, the Land and Useful resource Administration Division will make obtainable water take a look at kits to the general public. The water take a look at kits take a look at non-public ingesting wells for coliform micro organism, arsenic, nitrate nitrogen and lead. The take a look at outcomes and a report are returned to the resident by way of RMB Environmental Laboratories of Detroit Lakes.

“We listened to our residents. As a result of the water take a look at kits that we obtained from the U of M house owner septic class have been such successful, along with the suggestions we obtained on social media relating to water take a look at kits, we realized that there was nice public curiosity within the county offering this service,” acknowledged Chris LeClair, Otter Tail County Land and Useful resource Administration director. “We heard our residents and acted accordingly.”

The Minnesota Division of Well being (MDH) reminds residents that “as a non-public properly proprietor, you’re accountable for often testing the water you utilize for cooking and ingesting to ensure it’s secure.” MDH recommends that you just take a look at for coliform micro organism, nitrate, arsenic, lead and manganese (manganese if a child will drink the water). Testing for all of the contaminants is particularly vital if infants or younger kids drink the water.

The county is a take a look at package pick-up and drop-off location solely. Please return the package to the identical location the place you picked up the package. Accomplished kits might be picked up by a courier and despatched to the lab. Courier choose up dates are Monday-Thursday at 9:45 a.m. Please observe, the coliform micro organism take a look at is time delicate and have to be collected on the identical day that it’s delivered to the lab. Any pattern dropped off after 9:45 a.m. might be rejected by the laboratory for high quality management functions. Water take a look at kits is not going to be accepted after 9:45 a.m. or on Fridays.

There’s a charge for the testing service and the charges are paid on to the lab. Checks have to be made out to RMB Labs. The coliform micro organism and nitrate nitrogen assessments are mixed in a single pattern for $20; for properties constructed earlier than 1972 a lead take a look at ($20) is really useful; the arsenic take a look at is $20 eða $60 for all 4 assessments. The outcomes and report might be despatched on to the resident who assumes accountability for any really useful mitigation.

Please observe the gathering directions supplied with the kits. To gather your pattern MDH recommends you take a look at water from a faucet that you just use for cooking and ingesting and that if you happen to deal with your water, take a look at the water after it goes by remedy.