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. Oneida County has 3 municipal water systems.  

GROUNDWATER PROTECTION POLICIES   

• 2 of 3 municipal water systems in Oneida County have a wellhead protection plan: Lakeland and Rhinelander.
• 0 of 3 municipal water systems in Oneida County have a wellhead protection ordinance.
• Oneida County has not adopted an animal waste management ordinance.

MONEY SPENT ON CLEANUP

• Over $28 million has been spent on petroleum cleanup in Oneida County from leaking underground storage tanks, which equates to $765 per county resident.
• No municipal water systems in Oneida County have spent money to reduce nitrate levels.

GROUNDWATER USE    

• From 1979 to 2005, total water use in Oneida County has fluctuated from about 24.8 million gallons per day to about 32.8 million gallons per day through 2000 and decreased to 17.8 million gallons per day in 2005.*
• The increase in total water use to 1995 and decreased by 2005 is due to fluctuations in industrial use.
• The proportion of county water use supplied by groundwater has varied from about 13% to 16% during the period 1979 to 2000 and increased to 45% 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 Oneida County can be seen in the FULL REPORT or accessed through the map link above.

GROUNDWATER QUALITY

• 95% of 606 private well samples collected in Oneida County from 1990-2006 met the health-based drinking water limit for nitrate-nitrogen.  
• A 2002 study estimated that 12% of private drinking water wells in the region of Wisconsin that includes Oneida 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.   
• There are no atrazine prohibition areas in Oneida County.
• 100% of 7 private well samples collected in Oneida County met the health standard for arsenic.

POTENTIAL SOURCES OF CONTAMINANTS

• There are 43 open-status sites in Oneida County that have contaminated groundwater and/or soil. These sites include 20 Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) sites, 22 Environmental Repair (ERP) sites and 1 spill site.   
• There are no concentrated animal feeding operations in Oneida County.
• There is 1 licensed landfill in Oneida County.
• There are no Superfund sites in Oneida County.

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