Under the Driftless Area Water Study, Forest Jahnke of the environmental group Crawford Stewardship Project said testing is set to occur across the three counties in early May and again this fall, likely the end of October. The test, he added, would include 400 wells and also be run through UW-Stevens Point.

While he said the counties have committed just under $50,000 total for the testing, it's unclear whether there's enough money for additional research, analysis and mapping as well.

Still, he credited his group — as well as the SWIGG study — for putting pressure on local officials to move forward with the tri-county testing.

"Finally we've gotten some actual investment by the counties to move forward with this, so that's great," Jahnke said.

In addition to the countywide efforts, UW-Stevens Point is also working with several communities on a voluntary approach to well testing, like what occurred in a number of municipalities across Dodge County over the last couple years.