Kewaunee County and its neighbors have a serious groundwater contamination problem.
A recent study not only found that wells in areas of greater soil depth were being contaminated with dangerous pathogens, but that up to 60 percent of wells tested were affected, nearly doubling the tally from previous studies.
In 2014, Clean Wisconsin, along with Midwest Environmental Advocates and local citizens, filed a Safe Drinking Water Act petition with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asking for help for Kewaunee County residents.
Kewaunee County’s geology makes it vulnerable to groundwater contamination from manure spreading on the landscape.
Kewaunee County residents deserve a robust and thorough effort from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to address drinking water contamination.
For much of the past year, the DNR has pointed to a new set of protections being drafted as their effort to address drinking water contamination from livestock manure.
Access to clean, safe drinking water is every Wisconsin citizens’ right.
For too long, too many citizens in Kewaunee County and elsewhere in the state have been denied that right.
Through these protections, we think the DNR can reduce the risk of drinking water contamination by: Putting limits on when, where and how manure can be spread.
By writing strong rules, the DNR can help citizens with contaminated drinking water have safe wells that draw clean water while giving farmers the tools to effectively manage their livestock byproduct.

Dunn cites fresh water aquifer crisis.
HOBBS, N.M. – New Mexico State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn issued a news release Thursday in an effort to clarify his decision regarding fresh water used by the oil and gas industry.
Conversely, non-fresh water sources are available that can be used in oil and gas production.” Effective July 1, the State Land Office, without first reviewing hydrologic information, will not approve new, or renew, land access to drill water wells on State Trust Lands that involve the use of fresh water from the Ogallala aquifer for oil and gas production and related activities.
Dunn adopted a policy in January seeking to protect fresh water under State Trust Lands, implementing the policy at this time.
“As we understand, this regulation will only pertain to water wells that are drilled on state trust lands.
“Related activities is everything in town.
Everything in town is oil related,” he said after receiving a letter from the State Land Office informing him of the policy.
The oil and gas industry already has begun efforts to find alternatives to fresh water, according to several sources.
Terrell said Thursday, “The industry is taking a lot of different looks at the use of fresh water and what we can do to find other alternative sources to fracture our wells with, such as recycling water and using produced water rather than fresh water.” Produced water is water that has already been used in the field and is unfit for drinking.
Last week Rep. Larry Scott, R-Hobbs, owner of Lynx Petroleum, addressing the subject of reducing use of fresh water, said, “The industry is moving in that direction.

Wells have been around for over 8,000 years.
Water wells are constructed to Minnesota Department of Health’s extensive code and provide a safe and affordable drinking water source.
Their reasoning is because they want to protect the city aquifer from a new well contaminating it.
Out of 118,000 wells drilled in the last 10 years in Minnesota, not one has been documented to have caused contamination to any aquifer.
This is coming from the MDH, DNR and MPCA.
Also, according to MDH, there are over 73,000 wells in various cities in Minnesota, and there has not been one documented case of contamination due to these wells.
Minnesota has been a riparian rights state for over 100 years.
There are also the cost savings to irrigating your lawn.
An average household to irrigate their lawn costs roughly $600-$700 a year on city water.
Pumping the same amount of water out of a private well will cost about $48 yearly in power.

DNREC, EPA update Delaware residents on water contamination.
“We want to ensure everyone has safe drinking water, we want to ensure that people that are provided water from Artesian [water company] or have private drinking water wells, have safe drinking waters that do not pose a health hazard to them,” said Tim Ratsep, program administrator for DNREC’s site investigation and restoration section.
“We have to do the evaluation, we have to find out where the sources are, we have to get the sources out of there so concentrations don’t increase, and where it has increased to address them so they go in the opposite direction.” Back in 2005, Artesian Water Company, which provides and treats public drinking water, found small levels of contamination in its Hockessin water well during routine sampling.
DNREC then began to evaluate the impacts of the contamination, as well as potential sources of the contamination.
Prolonged exposure to the contaminant can cause adverse human health effects, including neurological disorders and cancer.
“All the Artesian wells have carbon treatment on them, and they meet federal and state safe drinking water standards, and the routine sampling occurs on a regular basis,” Ratsep said.
There were three locations we did find had low level impact material from the facilities and the state put treatment systems on those, so those wells are safe to drink also.” DNREC focused much of its investigation on evaluating dry cleaners in the area, and believe Hockessin Cleaners and Sunrise Cleaners are the main sources of the PCE contamination.
Ratsep said prior to regulations, cleaning materials containing compounds often were dumped outside, contaminating the soil and in turn, the water.
The EPA also updated the public on its investigation of the Hockessin Ground Water Plume Site, which it began last year.
If the site is put on the NPL, there will be several weeks of public information and comment sessions.

Saipan water contaminated with same chemical found on Guam.
The same chemical contaminant that last year forced the Guam Waterworks Authority to shut down some of its water wells on Guam has also been found in the water supply on Saipan.
The chemical, commonly used in firefighting foam and some commercial goods, has not been used by manufacturers in the United States for more than a decade.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends that a health advisory be issued if the amount of PFOS in the water exceeds 70 parts per trillion.
Water tested at a booster station that serves several Saipan villages showed contamination levels of 120 parts per trillion, the CUC stated, based on test results received June 5.
“CUC is making this advisory action to help the affected population limit their lifetime exposure to this chemical,” the utility agency stated.
The chemical poses a risk to the health of unborn children, and breastfed and formula-fed infants who are exposed to drinking water above EPA’s health advisory level, according to U.S. EPA.
Guam testing The Guam Waterworks Authority last year shut down several wells and issued public advisories after elevated levels of PFOS were found in the water supply.
Wells A-25 and A-23, located along Route 4 near the Hagåtña McDonald’s restaurant, were removed from the water distribution system last August after they tested positive in 2015 for contamination by PFOS.
New water samples were drawn from the two wells earlier this month, and results from off-island laboratories will confirm if they still are contaminated.

DNREC to update community on ground water investigations at June GHADA meeting.
EPA to determine if the site warrants further long-term investigation and cleanup At the Monday, June 19 Greater Hockessin Area Development Association (GHADA) meeting, representatives from the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) will update the public about the contaminated Hockessin Ground Water Plume Site.
The meeting is at 7 p.m., June 19 at the Hockessin Memorial Hall, 610 Yorklyn Road, Hockessin.
According to a press release, DNREC and EPA have been investigating contamination from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in some ground water wells which supply the Hockessin area’s drinking water.
Public drinking water in the area is provided by Artesian Water Company, and is treated to remove VOCs.
The primary ground water contaminant of concern in the Hockessin area is tetrachloroethylene (PCE), most commonly used as a dry-cleaning solvent and industrial degreaser.
PCE, a VOC which can cause adverse human health effects, was identified in a commercial irrigation well, three residential wells, and several public supply wells in the Artesian Water Company’s Hockessin well field, according to DNREC.
DNREC has requested additional assistance from the EPA to help fully investigate the area, and identify the sources of the VOC contamination in ground water.
At the meeting, DNREC and the EPA will provide information on ground water well testing results for residential properties, along with 2016-17 environmental assessment work completed by EPA on ground water contamination in the area.
The EPA is using its Superfund authority and resources to determine if the site warrants further long-term investigation and cleanup.

DNREC to update community June 19 on Hockessin Ground Water Plume Site investigations.
Agency will be joined by U.S. EPA and Delaware Division of Public Health at Hockessin Memorial Hall DOVER (June 14, 2017) – Representatives from the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) will update the public about the contaminated Hockessin Ground Water Plume Site.
DNREC and EPA have been investigating contamination from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in some ground water wells which supply the Hockessin area’s drinking water.
Public drinking water in the area is provided by Artesian Water Company, and is treated to remove VOCs.
The primary ground water contaminant of concern in the Hockessin area is tetrachloroethylene (PCE), most commonly used as a dry-cleaning solvent and industrial degreaser.
Subsequently, DNREC has requested additional assistance from the EPA to help fully investigate the area, and identify the sources of the VOC contamination in ground water.
At the meeting, DNREC and the EPA will provide information on ground water well testing results for residential properties, along with 2016-2017 environmental assessment work completed by EPA on ground water contamination in the area.
The EPA is using its Superfund authority and resources to determine if the site warrants further long-term investigation and cleanup.
For more information regarding the Hockessin Ground Water Plume Site, please visit: http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/dwhs/SIRB/Pages/Hockessin-Ground-Water-Plume-Site.aspx, or contact: Timothy Ratsep, Administrator; Paul Will, Program Manager; or Christina Wirtz, Outreach Ombudsman DNREC Site Investigation and Restoration Section; 302-395-2600 Email: Timothy.Ratsep@state.de.us; Paul.Will@state.de.us; or Christina.Wirtz@state.de.us Media Contact: Melanie H. Rapp, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902; Melanie.Rapp@state.de.us Visit the new alpha website of the The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC).
Join the DNREC press release email list.

Amid Contamination Concerns, Portsmouth and Greenland Ask N.H. to Pay Water Bills.
The city of Portsmouth and the town of Greenland are asking the state to help pay for public water at homes whose private wells may be at risk of water contamination.
Officials in Greenland had previously asked Portsmouth, which operates the only public well in Greenland, to extend water lines to about 300 homes near the landfill.
Now the two communities are teaming up.
They’re asking the state to use about $17 million dollars from a settlement fund to extend the water lines.
That fund was created by lawsuits over contamination from a chemical used in gasoline that contaminated groundwater across the state.
Jack Blalock is mayor of Portsmouth.
“The money is available from a contaminating source, the MtBe money is available.
And this is the type of project that seems suitable, to use that money to ensure clean water for residents.” The state Department of Environmental Services is currently testing monitoring wells at the site in an effort to map the boundaries of the contaminated water plume.
No private wells have tested above state thresholds for unsafe levels of contaminants.

Fecal Microbes In 60% of Sampled Wells.
Up to 60 percent of sampled wells in a Kewaunee County study contained fecal microbes, many of which are capable of making people and calves sick, two scientists told hundreds of local residents gathered at a public meeting Wednesday night.The microorganisms included Cryptosporidium, a parasite that comes from both people and animals.
“Obviously we shouldn’t have septic systems if they aren’t working.
The study tested water from 621 of them representing wells with various depths of soil to bedrock.
Seventy-nine of those wells were contaminated by a fecal microorganism — either a virus, parasite or bacteria — 62 of which were linked directly to either bovine or human sources.
Of the 12,200 people using private wells in the county, a projected 140 people per year are infected, as well as 1,700 calves.
“Some people have the money to fix it, but there are many people who can’t even find $500 dollars to put in a treatment system at one faucet,” he said.
Borchardt said when dangerous pathogens were found in private wells during the course of the study, homeowners got phone calls right away to alert them to the results.
The researchers placed autosamplers in three homes to continuously test water quality during periods of recharge.
“Even if the water’s not brown,” Borchardt said, “it doesn’t mean you aren’t drinking contaminated water.” Asked how to solve Kewaunee County’s water problems, Borchardt suggested an expensive fix.

Drinking Water Along The US-Mexico Border Threatened By Global Warming.
Some of the most marginalized communities in the United States are found along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Some people living along the that border already live without access to running water.
“People here, they know how to do it, so they do it by hand,” said Maria Covernali, a colonias resident living near El Paso, Texas.
A 2015 University of Texas Health Impact study reported high concentrations of arsenic and nitrates in the water supply of many colonias.
"The developers take advantage of the people," Corvenali said.
“After we start living on the land, we start to see the problems that we face.” A lot of the people living in colonias haul their water in tanks or buy bottled water.
That is where Patrick Marquez lives with his family.
Marquez said his well runs dry for a couple weeks every year while the farmers are pumping water out of the aquifer.
According to a 2009 Housing Assistance Council Community report, the Marquez and Covernali families are just some of the 1.5 million people living along the border who depend on vulnerable water supplies.