Protecting Wisconsin's Groundwater Through Comprehensive Planning
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  Manitowoc County
  This report provides the most current information and data found, as of May 2007, unless otherwise noted.
   
  Manitowoc County groundwater findings reports Manitowoc County full report Switch to Manitowoc 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. Manitowoc County has 11 municipal water systems.  Table showing water systems in Manitowoc County
 

GROUNDWATER PROTECTION POLICIES   Table showing water systems in Manitowoc County

  • 7 of 11 municipal water systems in Manitowoc County have a wellhead protection plan: Cleveland, Kiel, Manitowoc, Reedsville, St. Nazianz, Valders and Whitelaw.
  • 3 of 11 municipal water systems in Manitowoc County have a wellhead protection ordinance: Cleveland, Manitowoc and Reedsville.
  • Manitowoc County has adopted an animal waste management ordinance.
 

MONEY SPENT ON CLEANUP

  • Over $25 million has been spent on petroleum cleanup in Manitowoc County from leaking underground storage tanks, which equates to $309 per county resident.
  • 1 municipal water system in Manitowoc County has spent money to reduce nitrate levels.
 

GROUNDWATER USE    Water use figure

  • From 1979 to 2005, total water use in Manitowoc County has fluctuated from 20.0 million gallons per day to 16.0 million gallons per day.*
  • The fluctuations in total water use are due to fluctuations in domestic, industrial, and commercial uses.
  • The proportion of county water use supplied by groundwater has ranged from about 28% to 36% 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 Manitowoc County can be seen in the FULL REPORT or accessed through the map link above.
 

GROUNDWATER QUALITY

  • 85% of 295 private well samples collected in Manitowoc 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 Manitowoc 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
  • 930 acres of land in Manitowoc County are in atrazine prohibition areas. Map showing atrazine prohibition areas in Manitowoc County
  • 98% of 42 private well samples collected in Manitowoc County met the health standard for arsenic.
 

POTENTIAL SOURCES OF CONTAMINANTS

  • There are 69 open-status sites in Manitowoc County that have contaminated groundwater and/or soil. These sites include 7 Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) sites, 6 Environmental Repair (ERP) sites and 4 spill sites.   BRRTS map
  • There are 6 concentrated animal feeding operations in Manitowoc County.
  • There is 1 licensed landfill in Manitowoc County.
  • There are 2 Superfund sites in Manitowoc County.

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Manitowoc County full report Manitowoc 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