 Wisconsin has a long history of protecting the state's waters and even led the nation in drinking water protection with the passage of the 1983 groundwater law. Approximately two-thirds of people living in Wisconsin get their drinking water from groundwater. Adequate supplies of uncontaminated groundwater are crucial not only for our health but also for our breweries, agricultural operations and cutting-edge industries in Wisconsin. Hear how Wisconsin is working to protect your health and what you can do to get involved.
Oct 12 - Third Webinar in Series of Panel Discussions about Safe Water for All
MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will host the last of three educational webinars, Protecting The People - Safe Drinking Water For All, from 12-1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 12.
The webinar series is part of the Safe Water For All Campaign announced in July that is dedicated to educating the public on the leading drinking water contaminants, including PFAS, nitrates, lead and their impact on your health.
Wisconsin has a long history of protecting the state's waters, and even led the nation in drinking water protection with the passage of the 1983 groundwater law. Approximately two-thirds of people living in Wisconsin get their drinking water from groundwater. Adequate supplies of uncontaminated groundwater are crucial not only for our health, but also for our breweries, agricultural operations and cutting-edge industries in Wisconsin. Hear how Wisconsin is working to protect your health and what you can do to get involved.
Speakers include Steve Elmore, DNR Drinking Water and Groundwater Program Director, Jennifer Hauxwell, Associate Director at the University of Wisconsin Aquatics Sciences Center and Jon Meiman, Chief Medical Officer at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Bruce Rheineck, DNR Groundwater Section Chief, will moderate the session.
Gov. Tony Evers declared 2019 the Year of Clean Drinking Water to address the fact that not all Wisconsinites have access to safe, clean drinking water. Gov. Evers directed the DNR and DHS, the agencies entrusted with protecting Wisconsin’s health and water resources, to strengthen water quality standards for nitrate, PFAS and lead.
Learn more about how the State of Wisconsin is protecting our drinking water here.
Sector Team Updates
Come learn about conservation practices farmers are utilizing to improve soil health and water quality. This annual event is presented by the Dodge County Farmers for Healthy Soil Healthy Water and the Dodge County Alliance for Healthy Soil Healthy Water. Topics will include:
- Soil Health
- Cover crops: what they are and benefits they provide
- Conservation engineering practices
Afterwards, join us for food and refreshments at Cabby's Grill & Patio. This event is free, open to all, and does not require RSVP.
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 6, 4pm
Location: Hoekstra Farms, N10351 Howard Drive, Fox Lake, WI
The U.S. Department of Agriculture encourages people wanting to protect critical wetlands, agricultural lands and grasslands to consider enrolling their property into conservation easements. The Farm Bill provides USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service with technical and financial assistance to help private landowners, tribes, land trusts and other groups protect these valuable lands.
The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program focuses on restoring and protecting wetlands, conserving productive agricultural lands and conserving grasslands. Landowners are compensated for enrolling their land in easements.
Applications for the ACEP are taken on a continuous basis, and they are ranked and considered for funding one time a year. The deadline for the Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) for fiscal year 2022 is December 1, 2021, and the deadline for Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE) for fiscal year 2022 is October 31, 2021.
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The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will hold a public comment period and public hearing on a proposed rule pertaining to how the DNR conducts waterbody assessments using biological indicators. The rule describes how the biology of a lake, stream or river—such as its plant, algae, fish or insect communities—is used to assess its overall health. It also establishes biological indicators used to determine whether a water body is responding to elevated phosphorus levels. Finally, it updates water quality criteria for dissolved oxygen and establishes new criteria for oxygen and temperature for lakes with coldwater fish.
This will be the second public comment period and hearing for this rule (Natural Resources Board order WY-23-13). An earlier version of the rule was submitted to the legislature in 2020 but was recalled by DNR to review comments received at the legislative hearing. The revised version of the rule contains germane modifications to address these comments.
The comment period will run from Sept. 7 to Nov. 1, 2021. The hearing will be held via Zoom on Oct. 25 beginning at 10 a.m. Please see the attached notice for more information and a link to join the hearing.
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The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced that results for the latest wildlife reports are now available. View the full list of reports here.
The wildlife reports are divided into surveys addressing five species groups, including small game, big game, waterfowl, furbearers and nongame. The wildlife surveys are conducted throughout 2020-2021 by DNR staff and dedicated volunteers. The DNR’s wildlife program managers use the survey results to help make decisions on species management.
“Thank you to everyone who took part in these studies, whether through observation reports, survey participation or harvest registration,” said Brian Dhuey, DNR Wildlife Population and Harvest Assessment Specialist. “This continued commitment to wildlife enables the DNR to make data-driven decisions on how to best manage species in our state.”
These reports were made possible through federal funding authorized by the Wildlife Restoration Act commonly known as the Pittman-Robertson Act. More information on the funding is available here.
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The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Storm Water Discharge Permit Coverage At Solid Waste Landfills guidance and response to comments are now available via the following link: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Stormwater/publications.html.
The original guidance was initially developed in May 2016. This guidance update clarifies the process for new landfills and outlines the protocol when construction will begin before a final plan of operation is developed.
Revised Standards: Wisconsin DNR Technical Standard 1060 Storm Drain Inlet Protection For Construction Sites
The Wisconsin DNR Technical Standard 1060 Storm Drain Inlet Protection For Construction Sites was revised to incorporate the use of rigid frame type inlet protection devices and aid in device selection. This practice is intended to minimize sediment from entering storm drainage systems in areas where the contributing drainage area is temporarily disturbed or receives traffic from temporarily disturbed areas nearby. DNR solicited comments through Sept. 17th. The draft standard is available at this link. (https://socwisconsin.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1060_Inlet-Protection_BroadReview083121.pdf)
After the notice period is complete, all comments will be considered by DNR. Revisions may be made to the document and the final updated technical standard will then be made available to internal and external stakeholders.
The DNR maintains, implements, and develops Storm Water Construction and Post-Construction technical standards to assist with the compliance of Chapter NR 151, Wisconsin Administrative Code. The process established by the Wisconsin Standards Oversight Council is the process the agency uses to develop or revise technical standards pursuant to Subchapter V of NR 151. The DNR is a member of the Wisconsin Standards Oversight Council along with several other federal and state agencies and conservation organizations to ensure that technical standards used for soil and water conservation in Wisconsin are science-based and involve collaboration with other impacted agencies.
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Across the nation, communities and public entities are struggling with how to best address the issue PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in our environment. The District has completed the first phase of its PFAS sampling and analysis plan, and the results are favorable.
The first phase of the plan tested for 33 PFAS compounds, as outlined by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR). The District’s influent (incoming wastewater), effluent (outgoing, cleaned wastewater) and biosolids were tested. Struvite, a phosphorus-rich nutrient recovered from wastewater, and polymers, which are used in the treatment of biosolids, were also tested.
Samples were collected by a consultant, TRC, using lab-accepted collection methodologies. The samples were analyzed by Eurofins|TestAmerica, which is certified by WNDR to conduct PFAS testing. Read more...
Overall, the results of the District’s initial testing were as expected based on the characteristics of the 180-square-mile service area.
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