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. Chippewa County has 9 municipal water systems.  

GROUNDWATER PROTECTION POLICIES   

• 6 of 9 municipal water systems in Chippewa County have a wellhead protection plan: Bloomer, Boyd, Cadott, Chippewa Falls, Stanley and Lake Hallie.
• 3 of 9 municipal water systems in Chippewa County have a wellhead protection ordinance: Boyd, Cadott and Chippewa Falls.
• Chippewa County has adopted an animal waste management ordinance.

MONEY SPENT ON CLEANUP

• Over $11 million has been spent on petroleum cleanup in Chippewa County from leaking underground storage tanks, which equates to $194 per county resident.
• 1 municipal water system in Chippewa County has spent money to reduce nitrate levels.

GROUNDWATER USE 

• From 1979 to 2005, total water use in Chippewa County has increased from about 8.7 million gallons per day to 15.4 million gallons per day.*
• The increase in total water use over this period is due primarily to an increase in industrial and irrigation usage. Slight increases in domestic and public use and losses were seen through 2000 with a decline in 2005 and 1995 respectively.
• The proportion of county water use supplied by groundwater fluctuated from 97% in 1997 to a low of 74% in 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   

• 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 Chippewa County can be seen in the FULL REPORT or accessed through the map link above.

GROUNDWATER QUALITY

• 89% of 426 private well samples collected in Chippewa County from 1990-2006 met the health-based drinking water limit for nitrate-nitrogen.  
• A 2002 study estimated that 25% of private drinking water wells in the region of Wisconsin that includes Chippewa 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.   
• 5,259 acres of land in Chippewa County are in atrazine prohibition areas.
• 100% of 1 private well sample collected in Chippewa County met the health standard for arsenic.

POTENTIAL SOURCES OF CONTAMINANTS

• There are 50 open-status sites in Chippewa County that have contaminated groundwater and/or soil. These sites include 22 Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) sites, 20 Environmental Repair (ERP) sites, 7 spill sites and 1 Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE) site.  
• There are no concentrated animal feeding operations in Chippewa County.
• There are no licensed landfills in Chippewa County.
• There are no Superfund sites in Chippewa County.

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