Murray
Located North of Bluffton, the town of Murray is an unincorporated rural member of Wells County. The town of Murray does not have sanitary sewer infrastructure; waste from homes and businesses are discharged into various onsite systems and holding tanks where it leaks into stormwater systems, ditches and even the drinking water table.
As of July 2020, harmful bacteria levels in Murray’s drainage systems were between 100 and 10,000 times the accepted healthy level. Due to the need for adequate wastewater removal in Murray, the WCRSD has focused on the extension of sanitary sewer service to the town as a top priority project area in the 2020/2021 projects round.
Water Quality Testing in Murray
The Wells County Health Department took water samples in Murray on July 7th, 2020. Water quality tests from these samples read extremely high levels of E. coli indicating leakage of human waste from failed septic tanks into the surrounding water table. A summary of results from those tests are shown in the table below.
| Location | Date | Site E. coli level /100mL | Safe Level of E. coli / 100 mL for swimming | Safe Level of E. coli / 100 mL for drinking water |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3432 Main Murray– Storm Inlet | July 8, 2020 | 141,360 PPM | 235 PPM | 0 PPM |
| Corner of Garhard and Main – Storm Inlet | July 8, 2020 | 7,890 PPM | 235 PPM | 0 PPM |
For more information about water quality test results in Murray, please contact the Septic Environmental Health Specialist at the Wells County Health Department.
(260) 824-6491