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. Eau Claire County has 5 municipal water systems.  

GROUNDWATER PROTECTION POLICIES   

• 2 of 5 municipal water systems in Eau Claire County have a wellhead protection plan: Augusta and Fairchild.
• 0 of 5 municipal water systems in Eau Claire County have a wellhead protection ordinance.
• Eau Claire County has adopted an animal waste management ordinance.

MONEY SPENT ON CLEANUP

• Over $12 million have been spent on petroleum cleanup in Eau Claire County from leaking underground storage tanks, which equates to $129 per county resident.
• No municipal water systems in Eau Claire County have spent money to reduce nitrate levels.

GROUNDWATER USE    

• From 1979 to 2005, total water use in Eau Claire County has decreased from 16.7 million gallons per day to 15.3 million gallons per day in 2000 and increased to 18.8 million gallons per day in 2005. *
• The decrease to 2000 in total water use is due to industrial, commercial and domestic usage. The increase in 2005 total water use is due primarily to irrigation and domestic uses.
• The proportion of county water use supplied by groundwater has increased from 74% to about 83% 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   

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

GROUNDWATER QUALITY

• 89% of 123 private well samples collected in Eau Claire County from 1990-2006 met the health-based drinking water limit for nitrate-nitrogen.  
• A 2002 study estimated that 52% of private drinking water wells in the region of Wisconsin that includes Eau Claire 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.   
• 5,156 acres of land in Eau Claire County are in atrazine prohibition areas.
• 100% of 3 private well samples collected in Eau Claire County met the health standard for arsenic.

POTENTIAL SOURCES OF CONTAMINANTS

• There are 60 open-status sites in Eau Claire County that have contaminated groundwater and/or soil. These sites include 22 Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) sites, 24 Environmental Repair (ERP) sites and 14 spill sites.   
• There are no concentrated animal feeding operations in Eau Claire County.
• There is 1 licensed landfill in Eau Claire County.
• There are 2 Superfund sites in Eau Claire County.

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