Protecting Wisconsin's Groundwater Through Comprehensive Planning
Image of checksLearn more about groundwaterIntegrate groundwater into your planFind data and polices in your areaBrowse for resourcesChecks



 Find data and policies in your area
  Dodge County
  This report provides the most current information and data found, as of May 2007, unless otherwise noted.
   
  Dodge County groundwater findings reports Dodge County full report Switch to Dodge County full report
 

SOURCES OF DRINKING WATER

  • Wisconsin has nearly 11,500 public water systems which meet the daily water needs of about 4 million people. Public water systems that are owned by a community are called municipal water systems. Dodge County has 18 municipal water systems.  Table showing water systems in Dodge County
 

GROUNDWATER PROTECTION POLICIES   Table showing water systems in Dodge County

  • 5 of 18 municipal water systems in Dodge County have a wellhead protection plan: Beaver Dam North Distribution System, Beaver Dam, Fox Lake Correctional Institution, Juneau and Waupun.
  • 2 of 18 municipal water systems in Dodge County have a wellhead protection ordinance: Beaver Dam and Waupun.
  • Dodge County has adopted an animal waste management ordinance.
 

MONEY SPENT ON CLEANUP

  • Over $29 million have been spent on petroleum cleanup in Dodge County from leaking underground storage tanks, which equates to $330 per county resident.
  • No municipal water systems in Dodge County have spent money to reduce nitrate levels.
 

GROUNDWATER USE    Water use figure

  • From 1979 to 2005, total water use in Dodge County has fluctuated from about 11.0 million gallons per day to about 14.3 million gallons per day. *
  • The fluctuation in total water use over this period is due to all usage categories except domestic, which increased.
  • The proportion of county water use supplied by groundwater is generally about 98% during the period 1979 to 2005.*
  • Water use in Wisconsin is generally estimated for the following categories:
    • Agricultural
    • Domestic
    • Irrigation
    • Industrial
    • Commercial
    • Public use and losses
    • Thermoelectric or mining*

* Thermoelectric and mining data are not considered in water-use tables or figures on this web site. Thermoelectric-power water use is the amount of water used in the process of generating thermoelectric power. The predominant use of water is as non-contact cooling water to condense the steam created to turn the turbines and generate electricity.

 

SUSCEPTIBILITY OF GROUNDWATER TO CONTAMINANTS   Susceptibility map

  • Wisconsin has abundant quantities of high-quality groundwater, but once groundwater is contaminated, it's very expensive and often not technically possible to clean.
  • An evaluation of the susceptibility of groundwater to contamination in Dodge County can be seen in the FULL REPORT or accessed through the map link above.
 

GROUNDWATER QUALITY

  • 89% of 670 private well samples collected in Dodge County from 1990-2006 met the health-based drinking water limit for nitrate-nitrogen.   Nitrate map
  • A 2002 study estimated that 62% of private drinking water wells in the region of Wisconsin that includes Dodge County contained a detectable level of an herbicide or herbicide metabolite. Pesticides occur in groundwater more commonly in agricultural regions, but can occur anywhere pesticides are stored or applied.   Statewide pesticide map
  • 18,492 acres of land in Dodge County are in atrazine prohibition areas. Map showing atrazine prohibition areas in Dodge County
  • 90% of 39 private well samples collected in Dodge County met the health standard for arsenic.
 

POTENTIAL SOURCES OF CONTAMINANTS

  • There are 72 open-status sites in Dodge County that have contaminated groundwater and/or soil. These sites include 33 Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) sites, 34 Environmental Repair (ERP) sites, 1 spill site and 4 Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE) sites   BRRTS map
  • There are 2 concentrated animal feeding operations in Dodge County.
  • There is 1 licensed landfill in Dodge County.
  • There are 2 Superfund sites in Dodge County.

return to top

Dodge County full report Dodge County full report
   

For more information about this web site, its contributors, and the data contained herein, click here.

For assistance in comprehensive planning, please contact Lynn Markham, UW-Stevens Point.
For assistance on groundwater, please contact Charles Dunning, USGS.
Page contact: Webmaster, USGS
Page last updated: January 15, 2008