Protecting Wisconsin's Groundwater Through Comprehensive Planning
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  Winnebago County
  This report provides the most current information and data found, as of May 2007, unless otherwise noted.
   
  Winnebago County groundwater findings reports Winnebago County full report Switch to Winnebago 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. Winnebago County has 9 municipal water systems.  Table showing water systems in Winnebago County
 

GROUNDWATER PROTECTION POLICIES   Table showing water systems in Winnebago County

  • 2 of 9 municipal water systems in Winnebago County have a wellhead protection plan: Algoma and Omro.
  • 0 of 9 municipal water systems in Winnebago County have a wellhead protection ordinance.
  • Winnebago County has adopted an animal waste management ordinance.
 

MONEY SPENT ON CLEANUP

  • Over $45 million has been spent on petroleum cleanup in Winnebago County from leaking underground storage tanks, which equates to $281 per county resident.
  • No municipal water systems in Winnebago County have spent money to reduce nitrate levels.
 

GROUNDWATER USE    Water use figure

  • From 1979 to 2005, total water use in Winnebago County has increased from about 35.0 million gallons per day to about 72.4 million gallons per day.*
  • The increase in total water use over this period is due primarily to an increase in industrial use through 2000 and decreased slightly by 2005.
  • The proportion of county water use supplied by groundwater has been variable from about 12% to about 22% during the period 1979 to 2005.*
  • Water use in Wisconsin is generally estimated for the following categories:
    • Domestic
    • Livestock
    • Aquaculture
    • 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 Winnebago County can be seen in the FULL REPORT or accessed through the map link above.
 

GROUNDWATER QUALITY

  • 96% of 532 private well samples collected in Winnebago County from 1990-2006 met the health-based drinking water limit for nitrate-nitrogen.   Nitrate map
  • A 2002 study estimated that 33% of private drinking water wells in the region of Wisconsin that includes Winnebago 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
  • 878 acres of land in Winnebago County are in atrazine prohibition areas. Map showing atrazine prohibition areas in Winnebago County
  • 63% of 899 private well samples collected in Winnebago County met the health standard for arsenic.
 

POTENTIAL SOURCES OF CONTAMINANTS

  • There are 140 open-status sites in Winnebago County that have contaminated groundwater and/or soil. These sites include 47 Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) sites, 79 Environmental Repair (ERP) sites, 1 spill site and 13 Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE) sites.   BRRTS map
  • There are 3 concentrated animal feeding operations in Winnebago County.
  • There are 3 licensed landfills in Winnebago County.
  • There are no Superfund sites in Winnebago County.

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Winnebago County full report Winnebago 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 14, 2008