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.  

GROUNDWATER PROTECTION POLICIES   

• 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    

• 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   

• 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.  
• 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.   
• 930 acres of land in Manitowoc County are in atrazine prohibition areas.
• 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.   
• 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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