News - pcgazette.com

News

County seeks input on ground water plan

By BRIAN LEAHY
of The Gazette
Portage County officials are seeking public input as they revise the county's Groundwater Management Plan, which was adopted in 1988.

Public information sessions on the proposed plan revisions will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29, and Monday, Feb. 2, at the Courthouse Annex, 1462 Strongs Ave., Stevens Point. The Groundwater Management Plan revisions will also be the subject of a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Committee at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at the Courthouse Annex. Written comments will be accepted until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 13.

The final Groundwater Management Plan revision should go before the Planning and Zoning Committee in early March before being sent to the County Board of Supervisors for final approval, said Ray Schmidt, county water quality specialist.

Many pollutants and contamination sources were successfully managed under the Groundwater Management Plan adopted in 1988, Schmidt said. Most of the 1988 recommendations were implemented and continue to be addressed under current county programs. A few issues, including nitrate nitrogen, pesticides and ground water quantity, have proven difficult to tackle, and have not been adequately dealt with under current county and state programs.

Schmidt said the revised ground water plan could result in a change in efforts. In the past problems were readily identifiable, like underground storage tanks, and could be effectively and immediately addressed.

"You dig up the underground storage tank and soil that's contaminated around - A, B, C, D," Schmidt said. "It's a cookbook method."

The recommended goals cover pesticides, nitrates and quantity goals.

Pesticide goals include determining what pesticides are being used and where, and then sampling wells for possible detection of those pesticides.

"We know pesticides have been used, but we don't know where," Schmidt said. "We can guess based on the crops that are grown."

The proposed goal is to have pesticide concentrations less than the preventative action level (PAL), which is typically one-tenth of the health standard - a concentration where health effects are known to occur.

Schmidt advises people not to "throw pesticides all in the same basket."

"Some pesticides are much more leachable to ground water," he said. "Some don't move to ground water at all. For the purpose of this plan, we need to be much more concerned with those that move to ground water."

Proposed goals for nitrate management are to have nitrate levels below the enforcement standard of 10 parts per million (ppm). In areas where nitrate concentrations are below 10 ppm, but cause negative environmental impacts, such as harming aquatic organisms, measures should be taken to reduce nitrate levels.

The proposed goals for ground water quantity are to avoid human-influence depletion of the county's lakes, streams, wetlands and ground water reserves; and identify areas in the county that may have ground water shortages now or in the future.

"The important thing about the goals is they don't specify how they should be done. It's a vision of how ground water should look like down the road," Schmidt said. "We don't even have a timetable in mind."

Recommended strategies have been developed to meet those goals, but specific work plans need to be developed for each strategy. The strategies will also be prioritized based on public input.

The recommended strategies are:
-Continue current county programs which affect or improve ground water.
-Determine areas with high nitrate and pesticide levels.
-Establish a well abandonment program in Portage County.
-Conduct ongoing public education.
-Develop a Portage County Agricultural pesticide reporting database.
-Determine recharge rates and water budgets for all of the county's aquifers.
-Develop collaborative partnerships between Portage County agencies.
-Negotiate with corporate food processors regarding pesticides and nutrients required for grower contracts.
-Support a statewide pesticide reporting database.
-Encourage organic and sustainable agriculture.
-Court businesses that can utilize ground water friendly crops.
-Negotiate conservation easements and/or buy land.

"The strategies are necessarily general in nature, in order to provide flexibility in implementation," according to the introduction of the revised plan's proposed recommendations. "A great deal of public and private sector interaction and collaboration will be necessary to achieve progress in these areas. It will be essential to avoid polarization, realizing that we are working toward our common goal of adequate quantities of clean ground water, and recognizing the needs of each constituent group, if we are to be successful."

The Groundwater Management Plan revision effort has been driven by the Citizens Groundwater Advisory Committee, Schmidt said. The revision has been under way since 2000. The Planning and Zoning Committee and Health and Human Services Board reviewed drafts of the revision one-and-a-half years ago, with no negative comments. Public comment sessions were also held in June 2002.

Public input has been and remains important to the county's ground water management process, Schmidt said.

"The only reason Portage County got so involved with ground water in the '80s was because citizens were concerned about aldicarb in their drinking water, and that's the same thing with atrazine in the '90s," Schmidt said.

About 10 percent of the county is included in atrazine prohibition areas, including 35 of the 36 square miles in the town of New Hope, Schmidt said. The state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection established the first atrazine prohibition area in Portage County in 1994. The most recent one was in 2002.

Atrazine is the most commonly used pesticide, he said. Other pesticides used in this area aren't analyzed in well water samples because of high sampling costs.

Nitrate contamination of ground water has also increased since the Groundwater Management Plan was developed in 1988, Schmidt said. The villages of Whiting and Plover had to build expensive nitrate treatment plants for their municipal water systems because of elevated nitrate levels in their aquifers.

Schmidt has seen many positive developments for ground water since the first plan.

"We have a lot more knowledge than we had then, and we have more information to make better decisions," Schmidt said. "Somehow we're going to reach those goals."

More information about ground water is available at the Portage County ground water Web site at www.uwsp.edu/water/portage or by calling Schmidt at 346-1334.



	County seeks input on ground water plan By BRIAN LEAHY of The Gazette Portage County officials are seeking public input as they revise the county's Groundwater Management Plan, which was adopted in 1988. Public information sessions on the proposed plan revisions will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29, and Monday, Feb. 2, at the Courthouse Annex, 1462 Strongs Ave., Stevens Point. The Groundwater Management Plan revisions will also be the subject of a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Committee at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at the Courthouse Annex. Written comments will be accepted until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 13. The final Groundwater Management Plan revision should go before the Planning and Zoning Committee in early March before being sent to the County Board of Supervisors for final approval, said Ray Schmidt, county water quality specialist. Many pollutants and contamination sources were successfully managed under the Groundwater Management Plan adopted in 1988, Schmidt said. Most of the 1988 recommendations were implemented and continue to be addressed under current county programs. A few issues, including nitrate nitrogen, pesticides and ground water quantity, have proven difficult to tackle, and have not been adequately dealt with under current county and state programs. Schmidt said the revised ground water plan could result in a change in efforts. In the past problems were readily identifiable, like underground storage tanks, and could be effectively and immediately addressed. "You dig up the underground storage tank and soil that's contaminated around - A, B, C, D," Schmidt said. "It's a cookbook method." The recommended goals cover pesticides, nitrates and quantity goals. Pesticide goals include determining what pesticides are being used and where, and then sampling wells for possible detection of those pesticides. "We know pesticides have been used, but we don't know where," Schmidt said. "We can guess based on the crops that are grown." The proposed goal is to have pesticide concentrations less than the preventative action level (PAL), which is typically one-tenth of the health standard - a concentration where health effects are known to occur. Schmidt advises people not to "throw pesticides all in the same basket." "Some pesticides are much more leachable to ground water," he said. "Some don't move to ground water at all. For the purpose of this plan, we need to be much more concerned with those that move to ground water." Proposed goals for nitrate management are to have nitrate levels below the enforcement standard of 10 parts per million (ppm). In areas where nitrate concentrations are below 10 ppm, but cause negative environmental impacts, such as harming aquatic organisms, measures should be taken to reduce nitrate levels. The proposed goals for ground water quantity are to avoid human-influence depletion of the county's lakes, streams, wetlands and ground water reserves; and identify areas in the county that may have ground water shortages now or in the future. "The important thing about the goals is they don't specify how they should be done. It's a vision of how ground water should look like down the road," Schmidt said. "We don't even have a timetable in mind." Recommended strategies have been developed to meet those goals, but specific work plans need to be developed for each strategy. The strategies will also be prioritized based on public input. The recommended strategies are: -Continue current county programs which affect or improve ground water. -Determine areas with high nitrate and pesticide levels. -Establish a well abandonment program in Portage County. -Conduct ongoing public education. -Develop a Portage County Agricultural pesticide reporting database. -Determine recharge rates and water budgets for all of the county's aquifers. -Develop collaborative partnerships between Portage County agencies. -Negotiate with corporate food processors regarding pesticides and nutrients required for grower contracts. -Support a statewide pesticide reporting database. -Encourage organic and sustainable agriculture. -Court businesses that can utilize ground water friendly crops. -Negotiate conservation easements and/or buy land. "The strategies are necessarily general in nature, in order to provide flexibility in implementation," according to the introduction of the revised plan's proposed recommendations. "A great deal of public and private sector interaction and collaboration will be necessary to achieve progress in these areas. It will be essential to avoid polarization, realizing that we are working toward our common goal of adequate quantities of clean ground water, and recognizing the needs of each constituent group, if we are to be successful." The Groundwater Management Plan revision effort has been driven by the Citizens Groundwater Advisory Committee, Schmidt said. The revision has been under way since 2000. The Planning and Zoning Committee and Health and Human Services Board reviewed drafts of the revision one-and-a-half years ago, with no negative comments. Public comment sessions were also held in June 2002. Public input has been and remains important to the county's ground water management process, Schmidt said. "The only reason Portage County got so involved with ground water in the '80s was because citizens were concerned about aldicarb in their drinking water, and that's the same thing with atrazine in the '90s," Schmidt said. About 10 percent of the county is included in atrazine prohibition areas, including 35 of the 36 square miles in the town of New Hope, Schmidt said. The state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection established the first atrazine prohibition area in Portage County in 1994. The most recent one was in 2002. Atrazine is the most commonly used pesticide, he said. Other pesticides used in this area aren't analyzed in well water samples because of high sampling costs. Nitrate contamination of ground water has also increased since the Groundwater Management Plan was developed in 1988, Schmidt said. The villages of Whiting and Plover had to build expensive nitrate treatment plants for their municipal water systems because of elevated nitrate levels in their aquifers. Schmidt has seen many positive developments for ground water since the first plan. "We have a lot more knowledge than we had then, and we have more information to make better decisions," Schmidt said. "Somehow we're going to reach those goals." More information about ground water is available at the Portage County ground water Web site at www.uwsp.edu/water/portage or by calling Schmidt at 346-1334.