Protecting Wisconsin's Groundwater Through Comprehensive Planning
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  Waushara County
  This report provides the most current information and data found, as of May 2007, unless otherwise noted.
   
  Waushara County groundwater findings reports Waushara County full report Switch to Waushara 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. Waushara County has 5 municipal water systems.  Table showing water systems in Waushara County
 

GROUNDWATER PROTECTION POLICIES   Table showing water systems in Waushara County

  • 3 of 5 municipal water systems in Waushara County have a wellhead protection plan: Coloma, Redgranite and Wautoma.
  • 3 of 5 municipal water systems in Waushara County have a wellhead protection ordinance: Coloma, Redgranite and Wautoma.
  • Waushara County has adopted an animal waste management ordinance.
 

MONEY SPENT ON CLEANUP

  • Over $8 million has been spent on petroleum cleanup in Waushara County from leaking underground storage tanks, which equates to $351 per county resident.
  • No municipal water systems in Waushara County have spent money to reduce nitrate levels.
 

GROUNDWATER USE    Water use figure

  • From 1979 to 2005, total water use in Waushara County has increased from about 18.3 million gallons per day to about 52.3 million gallons per day.*
  • The increase in total water use over this period is due to primarily to an increase in irrigation use.
  • The proportion of county water use supplied by groundwater has ranged from about 86% to almost 100% 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 Waushara County can be seen in the FULL REPORT or accessed through the map link above.
 

GROUNDWATER QUALITY

  • 83% of 259 private well samples collected in Waushara County from 1990-2006 met the health-based drinking water limit for nitrate-nitrogen.   Nitrate map
  • A 2002 study estimated that 36% of private drinking water wells in the region of Wisconsin that includes Waushara 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
  • 14,567 acres of land in Waushara County are in atrazine prohibition areas. Map showing atrazine prohibition areas in Waushara County
  • 100% of 12 private well samples collected in Waushara County met the health standard for arsenic.
 

POTENTIAL SOURCES OF CONTAMINANTS

  • There are 15 open-status sites in Waushara County that have contaminated groundwater and/or soil. These sites include 4 Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) sites, 7 Environmental Repair (ERP) sites, 3 spill sites and 1 Voluntary Party Liability Exemption (VPLE) site.   BRRTS map
  • There are no concentrated animal feeding operations in Waushara County.
  • There are no licensed landfills in Waushara County.
  • There are no Superfund sites in Waushara County.

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Waushara County full report Waushara 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