A photo of a backyard well used in the video. Photo credit: Wisconsin Historical Society, WHS108018
A short documentary the Madison Water Utility created about their history won Best Government Access Program at the Midwest Media Fest.
WSLH Environmental Microbiology Director Dr. Sharon Long is featured in the video re-creating the experiment UW undergrad Magnus Swenson would have done in the 1880s to convince the people of Madison that the water they were drinking from their hand-dug backyard wells (sited sometimes just feet away from their family cess pools) was unsafe.
Watch the video — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwu5FhwmTx4