Well testing kits for Cook County residents still available through Land Services

There is still time for well-owners in Cook County to access well testing through the Safe Drinking Water for Private Well Users Grant that the county was awarded last year. The grant helps cover the cost of well-testing and remediation efforts for qualified households.

Andrew Beavers from Cook County Soil and Water said “Drinking water is so very important to everybody who is in this county, and so I think there’s a real benefit to people trying to take advantage of this program.”

For contaminates like E. coli or nitrates, the Minnesota Department of Health recommends annual testing. “These are things that can leach into the groundwater from a number of sources, and they’re not sort of static or geologically present like some of the other items,” Beavers said. “But in addition to those two annual items, if you have never tested your well for arsenic, manganese or lead in your house systems, these are also items that are covered by this well test. So it’s a really nice, all encompassing test for some pretty serious contaminants.”

For some well owners, to cost of annual testing can be a barrier to following this recommendation.

Beavers previously told WTIP about the grant that covers the cost of testing. He said that over the past roughly six months, Land Services has given out about 120 tests. About 90 of those tests have been completed.

The grant will cover testing into 2026, but Beavers said the county may run through the grant money before then, so if residents are interested in testing, he recommends doing it sooner rather than later. Interested residents can pick up a test in the Land Services office at the Cook County Courthouse. Those with questions can also contact Beavers by email at andrew.beavers@co.cook.mn.us or by phone at 218-387-3678

Beyond the cost of getting a well tested, for some county residents, getting the water sample to the lab has been a barrier. Samples from Cook County have to be transported to a lab in the Duluth area, and previously the only local drop-off location was Arrowhead Cooperative in Lutsen.

Beavers said county residents can now drop off their water samples at the Cook County Courthouse on Wednesdays before 10 a.m. He said the change was an effort to better serve residents of the east side of the county. “This kind of helps bridge the gap for folks on the east end here, to have a more convenient spot to drop off those tests,” he said.

WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke to Andrew Beavers about the well testing kits available through Cook County Land Services. Audio of that interview is below.

Kirsten Wisniewski March 31, 2025