DNR to provide clean drinking water for contaminated wells.
LUXEMBURG (WLUK) — The DNR is planning to provide clean drinking water to people whose wells are contaminated by manure runoff.
So Wagner and his family drink bottled water.
"I only get one gallon of water per hour," Wagner told us As a Kewaunee County Board Member, Wagner is happy to hear about the DNR’s program to provide clean water to his constituents dealing with similar struggles.
Wagner told FOX 11 he can’t benefit from the DNR’s program because the water that comes out of his well is only contaminated with nitrates, not bacteria.
We still haven’t found any bacteria, which is a good thing," he explained.
Wagner said this is a good step, but… "How come this didn’t come out sooner?"
In statement the DNR said several programs worked together to take this step as quickly as possible.
A group of farmers called ‘Peninsula Pride Farms’ already offers clean drinking water.
That year-old program is for people with contaminated wells in the Kewaunee and Southern Door area.

With livestock-contamination of drinking water a growing concern in Wisconsin, the Department of Natural Resources has quietly started efforts to provide temporary water supplies to people with tainted wells. The DNR posted an update on its website in April that said it would provide temporary emergency drinking water when tests show that a water supply is contaminated and is likely due to groundwater contaminated by manure, a person on the property contracts a water-borne illness or there is a sudden change in color or odor of well water, Two environmental groups issued statements Wednesday announcing the state initiative. Afterward, the DNR said in a statement the agency used aspects from several programs under existing law to set up the water program. It also notified authorities in Kewaunee County, where well contamination has been most severe. RELATED: Can manure from so many cattle be safely spread on the land? The program’s low-key rollout on a high-profile issue perplexed environmental groups who say the agency has been reluctant to criticize the…

Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism wins top national award for drinking water project.
“Failure at the Faucet” was one of 85 honorees among more than the 1,300 entries.
“This award is a testament to the stellar work of the Center’s staff and the inspiring leadership of Andy and Dee Hall, who have built the Center into one of the top investigative nonprofit newsrooms in the country,” said Brant Houston, Knight Chair in Investigative and Enterprise Reporting at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and president of the Center’s board of directors.
Reporting for the series began in 2015 as part of The Confluence, an experimental news project of the Center and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
It is an example of in the UW’s vaunted Wisconsin Idea in action.
In early 2016, the Center was the first to report on the dangers posed by Wisconsin’s 176,000 lead service lines and the state’s high childhood lead poisoning rate, which rivals that of Flint, Michigan.
Throughout 2016, the Center continued its coverage of the risk of lead in state drinking water, including high levels at two state prisons.
The Center’s staff, along with UW-Madison’s J475 students, won an award for "Best Investigative Story or Series" for the "Failure at the Faucet" series, which revealed numerous threats to drinking water quality in Wisconsin, including lead, arsenic, radium, strontium, human and animal bacteria and viruses and pesticides.
UW-Madison journalism faculty: Deborah Blum and Katy Culver.
The organization is “dedicated to the perpetuation of a free press as the cornerstone of our nation and our liberty.” Last year’s SDX award winner in the same category was “Rape on the Night Shift,” by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Investigative Reporting Program at University of California-Berkeley, Frontline, Univision and KQED.

Shorewood boil and bottled drinking water advisory is canceled.
The Village of Shorewood’s precautionary boil/bottled drinking water advisory is no longer in effect.
According to a press release, The DNR informed the Shorewood Water Works that drinking water samples drawn on April 25th, 2017 show no indication of bacterial contamination.
Shorewood Waterworks had an approximate 55% pressure loss in its water system due to Milwaukee Waterworks maintenance projects, according to the Shorewood Utilities press release.
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources requires that two water samples are collected following a loss of water pressure.
Therefore, they recommend no one drink the water or use it for potable purposes until samples are confirmed safe.
It is advised to not leave any faucets open to avoid water flowing when it is turned on again.
Once water pressure returns it will spit air and run cloudy.
Water can be used for flushing and washing when it comes back on, but not for drinking.
Residents will be notified when water is once again safe to drink.

Shorewood Under Water Boil Order for ‘At Least’ 48 Hours.
SHOREWOOD, WI — Shorewood residents are strongly urged to either boil water or use bottled water for drinking for at least 48 hours starting Tuesday, April 25, 2017, after maintenance projects caused a significant pressure drop across the village.
On Tuesday, April 25, 2017, Shorewood Waterworks had an approximate 55% pressure loss in its water system due to Milwaukee Waterworks maintenance projects.
Village officials said when water pressure returns to your homes, it will spit air and also run cloudy.
The Wisconsin DNR requires the water utility to collect two water samples following a loss of water pressure and recommends that Shorewood residents not drink or use it for potable purposes until samples verify that it is safe.
Village officials say residents may use the water for washing and flushing when it comes back on, but not for drinking.
Continue to drink water you set aside, or buy bottled water, or boil your water for one minute and cool it before drinking it until we notify you the water tested "safe".
Shorewood officials anticipate this advisory to be in effect for a minimum of 48 hours.
If you have questions, please call Leeann Butschlick at 414-847-2650. image via shutterstock

Autoplay:XShorewood issues precautionary boil- bottled drinking water advisoryx SHOREWOOD — The Village of Shorewood Department of Public Works issued a precautionary boil advisory Tuesday after residents noticed little to no water pressure.
"Some of that impacted the delivery of water into our system, it impacted those pressures so the pressure dropped and that’s what triggered this," Butschlick said.
UW-Milwaukee campus officials put signs on bathrooms asking faculty and students to use bathrooms on lower floors where the water pressure was stronger.
Workers at Lake Bluff Dental in Shorewood also took extra precaution.
"I did go to the Metro Market up the street and bought distilled water," said lab technician Laury Veksler.
"We quickly swapped everything out and made sure patients weren’t ingesting or touching it."
Butschlick said the village will send water samples to a lab for testing, "Labs generally take 18 to 24 hours to process those types of samples so we expect to have an answer about Thursday morning hopefully," she said.
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Wauwatosa’s Hartung Park receives award for water management.
Hartung Park in Wauwatosa was awarded as a Green Luminary green space by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District April 10.
The park near the intersection of West Keefe Avenue and Menomonee River Parkway opened in 2010 at the site of the old Hartung Quarry that supplied rocks used to construct area buildings.
The MMSD website describes Green Luminaries as spaces that "help protect our rivers and Lake Michigan by adapting practices that harvest rainfall for other uses or mimic nature by draining it into the ground to reduce water pollution."
A release from Wauwatosa Mayor Kathy Ehley’s office said the Green Luminaries Award acknowledges the work done by the collaboration of the city of Milwaukee, city of Wauwatosa and a group of volunteers who worked together over the past 14 years to make the park what it is today.
"It’s transformed from a quarry to a landfill and now a park that uses green infrastructure to help keep water pollution out of Milwaukee-area rivers and Lake Michigan," MMSD Public information Manager Bill Graffin said.
The Green Luminaries Award, given monthly, acknowledges projects, big or small, which ultimately help protect our rivers and Lake Michigan through storm water management, according to a news release.
The projects are led by people who recognize the need to innovate and create lasting good works that connect people and prosperity to the environment.
Wauwatosa Alderman Jason Wilke and Hartung Park Neighborhood Association Board member Mary Richter accepted the award at the MMSD board meeting.

La Crosse County, WI (WXOW) – La Crosse County Health Department issued a health advisory on Thursday after dangerous levels of nitrates and bacteria were found in private wells in the Town of Onalaska and the Town of Holland.
La Crosse County Health officials said they found clusters of private wells with contaminated water during annual water testing.
They say the water contamination is the result of bacteria and nitrate build up for over a decade.
Health officials said traces of nitrate are evident in normal drinking water, but some of the groundwater tested in the private wells had dangerously high nitrate levels.
High nitrate levels could cause birth defects and the rare, "Blue Baby Syndrome."
"Municipal water sources are safe," Rombalski said.
"They routinely test and very often monitor their well water quality, and there is no concern at this time about municipal water supplies."
She urges residents in those areas to use bottled water for drinking and cooking, or boil it to kill bacteria.
There is no easy solution to removing these contaminants.
It may be a long-term problem.

La Crosse County warns of nitrates in town of Onalaska, Holland well water.
Private well owners in the western half of the towns of Onalaska and Holland are being urged to test their water after the La Crosse County Health Department discovered worrisome levels of nitrates and bacteria in much of the water supply.
Water contamination data was requested in response to a 2016 audit showing multiple failings by the Wisconsin DNR to enforce the clean water laws.
Water typically registers 1 mcg per ml, and anything more than 10 mcg per ml can cause health problems, especially for infants and pregnant women.
Risks include birth defects and “blue baby syndrome.” Private well water also tested positive for coliform, which in itself may not cause illness but can indicate the presence of E. coli, which may cause gastrointestinal problems including diarrhea and vomiting.
Health and Human Services Committee Chair Monica Kruse stated that an exact cause of the contamination has not been determined, but contributing factors include sandy soil, run-off and general land use.
“It can take years and decades for this to occur and show up, and it can take years and decades for the levels to go back down,” Rombalski stressed.
Kits are available at the La Crosse County Health Department, with results available by mail in two to four business days.
Those with elevated nitrate levels are advised to use bottled water for drinking and cooking and to consider having reverse osmosis systems installed or have a deeper or new well drilled.
Bacteria can be killed by boiling water before consumption, but is not recommended when nitrates are also present, as boiling can concentrate nitrates.

Cost-share funding available to Dodge County farmers.
JUNEAU – Cost-share funding will be available again to Dodge County farmers for implementing a variety of soil and water conservation practices in 2017 through the Dodge County Land Conservation Department.
Additional money, $10,000, will be available for cost sharing nutrient management planning.
The rate of cost sharing on most practices is 70 percent.
Applications will be accepted throughout the year.
Cost-share funding will be awarded on a first-come first-serve basis.
To obtain an application form, or for more information, call the Dodge County Land Conservation Department at 920-386-3660, or stop in at the Dodge County Administration Building, 127 E. Oak St., Juneau, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Cost-share funding may also be available from the Dodge County Field Office of the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service.
For more information about this possible source of funding, please the USDA-NRCS at 920-386-9999.
Dodge County farmers and landowners are encouraged to take advantage of these cost-share funding opportunities that can help them meet state and federal conservation program requirements, but can also benefit their overall farming operations.