Assembly's Robin Vos to form water quality task force

MADISON — Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says he will form a water-quality task force following reports of contaminated wells across southwestern Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports that 42 percent of 301 randomly selected wells tested in Iowa, Grant and Lafayette counties exceed federal standards for bacteria that can come from animal or human waste or for a toxic fertilizer residue. The survey was conducted in November by the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Vos issued a news release Thursday saying that Reps. Travis Tranel of Cuba City and Todd Novak of Dodgeville have asked him to form a water-quality task force. Vos says he plans to announce the task force's members in what he called "the coming weeks."