However, the issuance in 2016 of two permits by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources — for a high-capacity well on a nearby farm and a new dairy farm — posed imminent threats to the lake’s water level and even the lake itself.
That’s why owners of lakeside and other nearby properties decided to purchase and conserve the 105-acre Bula Farm to protect Pleasant Lake and its watershed lands — and to challenge the DNR permits in court.
The most-recent owner of the Bula Farm purchased the property in 2015 and obtained a permit in 2016 from the DNR to install a high-capacity well for irrigating the land.
In light of that, residents determined they should buy the Bula Farm to deed-restrict the property to prevent any future high-capacity well installation and to stop manure spreading on the property now and in the future.
Land values go way down if the water goes down.” Nearby, the proposed Richfield Dairy has not yet been built, but a renewed permit was issued for it in 2016.
Manure spreading has been found to cause groundwater and surface-water pollution from nitrates and other contaminants of concern, especially in vulnerable areas such as Wisconsin’s Central Sands.
After research, community discussions and consultation with experts, they formed the Pleasant Lake Management District as a governmental body with taxing authority.
Purchasing nearby farmland, if it became available for sale, was one option considered within the plan.
Kunes said, “It’s a very significant related legal issue, in addition to and separate from the farm purchase.” The district also is fighting high-capacity wells — which recently became an even bigger problem.
Kunes noted long-term issues at stake: “Loss of lake water levels and contamination of private wells will result in degradation of both water quality and property values.