(48) New Web Site Helps Wisconsin Plan for Safe Drinking Water

Charles Dunning, U.S. Geological Survey Wisconsin Water Science Center, Middleton, Wisconsin

Session: Poster session

Wisconsin relies heavily on its groundwater—97 percent of communities in the state and nearly 1 million additional residents with private wells use groundwater for their daily needs. However, many Wisconsin communities, particularly smaller communities, do not have the resources or expertise to locate, evaluate, and incorporate appropriate groundwater information and data to plan for safe drinking water.

Our new web site provides easy access to information about Wisconsin's groundwater to assist local governments in protecting this vital resource and to help owners of private wells tap into safe drinking water supplies. The site incorporates select groundwater data and policy information from 16 federal, state and local agencies. Maps and other easy-to-use formats provide data for each of Wisconsin's 72 counties on sources of drinking water, groundwater-protection policies, money spent on cleanup, groundwater use, susceptibility of groundwater to pollutants and groundwater quality.

While Wisconsin has one of the most comprehensive groundwater protection and research programs in the nation, contamination of groundwater is still a concern. Up to 40 percent of private wells in some areas of the state show detectable levels of contaminants that present a human health concern. Nitrate, for example, has been found in more than 11 percent of private wells, and pesticides or their breakdown products have been identified in 38 percent of private wells.

Real examples of how communities have protected their drinking water supplies through land use planning are included in the web site. Some communities have maintained forested or other natural land uses in groundwater-well-recharge areas to minimize contamination threats. In other examples, communities have recognized that the quality of their groundwater depends on how food is grown within their community. As a result, they have adopted incentives for farmers to grow organic crops or those that don't require heavy fertilizer use.

Lynn Markham
University of Wisconsin Extension Center for Land Use Education
800 Reserve Street
Stevens Point, WI 5448
Phone: 715-346-3879
Fax: 715-346-4038
lmarkham@uwsp.edu

Charles Dunning
U.S. Geological Survey Wisconsin Water Science Center
8505 Research Way
Middleton, WI 53562
Phone: 608-821-3827
Fax: 608-821-3817
cdunning@usgs.gov