Is French Island, WI tap water safe?
The short answer
1 of the 3 utilities serving French Island has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Wisconsin’s records: Island Estates.
La Crosse Waterworks, which serves the most people here, has 2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, 1 result above the limit’s level with no violation recorded and 3 results above the health goal. The worst: Haloacetic acids (HAA5) at 136 ppb, above the limit’s level, no violation.
The water from La Crosse Waterworks is moderately hard to very hard depending on the source, 64 to 390 mg/L (3.7 to 22.8 grains per gallon). How Wisconsin’s water compares.
A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in French Island’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
La Crosse Waterworks
Wisconsin · serves 53,000 people · about 2,400 in French Island
2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, 1 result above the limit’s level with no violation recorded and 3 results above the health goal. The worst: Haloacetic acids (HAA5) at 136 ppb, above the limit’s level, no violation. Hardness: moderately hard to very hard depending on the source, 64 to 390 mg/L (3.7 to 22.8 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Onalaska Waterworks
Wisconsin · serves 18,000 people · about 600 in French Island
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 1.5 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: very hard, typically 344 mg/L (20.1 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Island Estates
Wisconsin · serves 50 people · nearly all in French Island
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 3.0 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: very hard, 216 mg/L (12.6 grains per gallon).
1 health-based violation since 2016
What handles it
Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in La Crosse Waterworks’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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Countertop reverse osmosis
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: PFOS, PFOA, Arsenic, Lead
Aquasana SmartFlow Reverse Osmosis (AQ-SFRO2)
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: PFOS, PFOA, Arsenic, Lead
Brondell Capella RC250 Reverse Osmosis System
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: PFOS, PFOA, Arsenic, Lead
Water testing near French Island
The 3 labs Wisconsin certifies closest to French Island, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Davy Laboratories
La Crosse, WI · about 6 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts
La Crosse County HD Public Health Laboratory
La Crosse, WI · about 6 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals
A1 Advanced Pumping Service, Inc.
West Salem, WI · about 9 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate
Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene: Well water test kits ordered by phone and shipped free; you pay to mail the sample back, and the lab bills you after testing. Tests run from bacteria alone to a homeowner package covering bacteria, nitrate, fluoride, metals, hardness, volatile organic compounds and atrazine. Bacteria is $35, nitrate $35, lead $38, and the homeowner package $450, as of July 1, 2026. Public Environmental and Water Testing Prices, Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene.
All 156 certified labs for WisconsinZIP codes in French Island
Which ZIP codes are in French Island: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: Wisconsin DNR and DATCP, certified and approved drinking water laboratories; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near French Island
Towns nearby with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read La Crosse Waterworks’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- About Haloacetic acids (HAA5)What it does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.About Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water