Washington, Aug 24 (IANS): To protect public health and the environment, a company in the US has been using dogs to sniff out contamination in water sources, a media report said on Monday.

Environmental Canine Services, based in Clinton county, Michigan, has six working dogs and two in training, to help local authorities save on time and money in the elimination process.

So far, the canines have worked on 75 projects across the country, the Detroit Free Press reported.

The idea belongs to dog trainers Karen and Scott Reynolds, who started their company in 2009.

Scott used to work as an environmental scientist tasked with tedious, time-consuming storm water testing for bacteria like E. Coli, which is found in human waste and can make people sick.

The couple trained one of their dogs to sniff out human waste in rivers, streams or other water sources. The demand went up after word spread about this unique service.

"What might take people several months to track sources, sometimes the dogs can get close to the source in a day," Karen said.