Series: Drinking Water Quality

M.K DeSantis, Pegasus Technical Services for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Series: Drinking Water Quality

Drinking water quality varies across in Wisconsin. In communities with public utilities, drinking water is subject to disparate levels of treatment depending on local needs and budget concerns. Nearly one million households get their water from private wells, which depend on property owners for monitoring and treatment. Across the state, many natural processes and human activities can introduce pathogens and chemical contaminants into water supplies. Wherever their drinking water comes from, Wisconsinites can use various resources to better understand and improve its quality.

Series: CAFOs, Manure And Water

What An Audit Of DNR Wastewater Violation Enforcement Practices Found

Video:

Frederica Freyberg

PBS Wisconsin

Shared via

WPT

The Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau found the state Department of Natural Resources has sent notices to only a small percentage of wastewater facilities and CAFOs that could be committing violations. Wisconsin Natural Resources Board Chairperson Terry Hilgenburg discusses these findings.

Series: Drinking Water Quality

DNR Lead Pipe Fund Doesn't Always Align With Greatest Needs

Scott Gordon

WisContext

A new Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources program might have difficulty targeting the Wisconsin communities experiencing the greatest lead contamination in terms of scale and intensity.

Series: Drinking Water Quality

DNR's Lead Pipe Program Covers Fraction Of Likely Cost

Scott Gordon

WisContext

A new program to help Wisconsin communities replace lead drinking water pipes will likely take out only a small fraction of those estimated to exist around the state.

Series: Drinking Water Quality

Do You Use Well Water? Learn About Radon, Arsenic, Pesticides And More

Kevin Masarik

UW-Extension

As the groundwater education specialist for the Center for Watershed Science and Education at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Kevin Masarik gets a lot of questions from Wisconsin residents about their well water and how to go about testing its safety. Here are answers to several specific questions.

Series: Drinking Water Quality

Agricultural Practices Can Affect Levels Of Nitrate In Groundwater

Scott Gordon

WisContext

U.S. farmers embraced nitrogen-based fertilizer at a dramatic pace during the 1960s and '70s. Since then, its use has played a key role in boosting agricultural productivity. But as a consequence, nitrogen's more soluble form, nitrate, has become a common drinking water contaminant, in Wisconsin and around the country.

Series: Drinking Water Quality

Wisconsin's Drinking Water Utilities Have Many Connections

Scott Gordon

WisContext

The distribution of drinking water ties Wisconsin's major population centers together, and shapes local economies and political dynamics. Local governments depend on and sometimes battle with each other to ensure access to drinking water sources, and the infrastructure necessary for treatment.

Series: Drinking Water Quality

Do You Use Well Water? An Introduction To Testing

Kevin Masarik

UW-Extension

Series: Drinking Water Quality

9 Ways For Wisconsin Well Owners To Improve Their Drinking Water Quality

Karen Faster

WisContext

Scott Gordon

WisContext

Kristian Knutsen

WisContext

For those Wisconsinites who use a well, here are nine tips for making sure their drinking water is as safe as possible.

Series: Drinking Water Quality

Defining 'Corrosion' In Drinking Water

Scott Gordon

WisContext

The term "corrosion" has leached its way into public discussion about drinking water over recent weeks, thanks largely to the roiling water crisis in Flint, Michigan.

Series: Drinking Water Quality

Why Madison Is A Model For Replacing Lead Water Pipes

Scott Gordon

WisContext

Public policies addressing lead in drinking water have serious holes, as reports from Wisconsin Public Radio and the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism revealed this week. But Wisconsin is also the home of one of the more ambitious lead-mitigation projects in U.S. history.