(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday morning, received an update from Adair/Guthrie County Environmental Health Executive Director Jotham Arber. He mentioned that during the month of July, his staff was working on completing Perc (percolation) tests. That’s a method used to determine the water absorption rate of soil, which is crucial for designing and installing septic systems. They’ve also conducted many water tests and well rehabilitation’s.

They’re also participating in a pilot program, with regard to radon testing using an electronic device.

It’s hoped they can eventually have some of the new devices to loan-out for a week and see in real-time what the radon levels are. Under the current system, home test results using a card are sent in a lab, and the results are returned to the home owner, not the Environmental Health Agency, so it’s difficult to know if the radon levels are high in a particular area, Arber says.

Arber says they have information packets available, with regard to nitrite and nitrate levels in rural well water.

He says the information is especially important for new, rural homeowners who are having a well installed. Jotham Arber told the Adair County Supervisors they are working on getting the Beacon system rolled-out to the three counties the Environmental Health Department serves in this area. Septic systems will be included in the software program that will be compatible with the county’s system that is already in-place.

Beacon and qPublic.net combine both web-based GIS and web-based data reporting tools into a single, user friendly web application that is designed with the user’s needs in mind.